Give Obama a Stronger Hand to Play

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman is reaching the end of negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade agreement almost five years in the making. The accord would wrap the U.S., Japan, and 10 other Pacific Rim countries into a humongous free-trade zone with almost 800 million consumers and 40 percent of global output. It could increase U.S. exports by $78 billion a year and create hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs over the next decade. Yet a deal won’t happen unless Congress soon gives President Obama fast-track authority, also called trade-promotion authority, which lets the president submit a treaty for a straight up-or-down vote.

Without fast-track authority, the U.S. won’t be able to negotiate the deal on favorable terms, and then Congress won’t approve it. That could sideline free-trade talks between the U.S. and the European Union, as well as efforts to write a much-needed global rulebook for trade in services.