After chief trade negotiators concluded the latest round of talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement in Hawaii on Monday, U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, issued a statement voicing his support for the partnership.
“Trade Promotion Authority sets high bars for America’s trade objectives,” Hatch said. “While our trade negotiators were able to make significant progress this week, it is important that the United States stood firm to ensure America secures the best deal from our international trading partners.”
A longtime supporter of removing barriers to free trade, Hatch has worked tirelessly to bolster America’s competitiveness in the global market, while increasing access to the international trade arena for American farmers, workers and job creators. Hatch was involved in writing legislation earlier this year that renewed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). That bill, which essentially gives Congress the final say in all trade negotiations engineered by the president, was signed into law in June.
“A good deal is better than a fast deal,” Hatch said. “And while I remain deeply concerned with some of the positions taken by our counterparts in these talks, I’m confident that with more time and a renewed commitment, a strong agreement can be reached that will earn my support, the support of Congress and that of the American people.”
Hatch (R-Utah) has represented the state of Utah in the U.S. Senate since 1976. Born in Pittsburgh in 1934, Hatch was educated at Brigham Young University and the University of Pittsburgh Law School. Hatch serves on the following committees: Finance Committee, Judiciary Committee, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.