June 21--Barack Obama is the only Illinois Democrat ever to become president, and the party faithful are immensely proud of him. But as he has put his reputation on the line for one of the most significant efforts of his second term, most Illinois Democratic leaders have turned their backs on him.
That would be Trade Promotion Authority, commonly called "fast-track" authority, to negotiate a free trade agreement with Pacific nations.
The U.S. House, after fits and starts, finally voted Thursday to approve fast-track. Only one Democrat in the congressional delegation, Rep. Mike Quigley, supported giving Obama the same power to negotiate on trade that past presidents have enjoyed.
Now this goes back to the Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois -- one of Obama's most vocal allies -- sits in the No. 2 leadership position.
Durbin is apparently prepared to embarrass Obama again. Durbin opposes fast-track, even though Obama -- and Illinois employers of all stripes -- makes a powerful case for it.
Durbin has to rethink this.
Granting the president this authority doesn't assure that he will secure trade deals with Pacific or European nations that Congress will approve. It just allows the president the freedom to make commitments that Congress can't nibble to death.
Under this policy, the White House would send a final agreement to the House and Senate, whose members would be free to vote yes or no. All they would not be free to do is amend the deal. Without that rule, our trading partners would see no point in dickering, because nothing the U.S. agreed to would be binding.
Durbin can hardly be unaware that without this power, Obama and his trade negotiators would be out of the game. Nor is he ignorant of the value of knocking down trade barriers abroad -- having voted for the North American Free Trade Agreement as a House member in 1993.
But this time, organized labor and other Democratic constituencies have mobilized against it. So Durbin seems to be capitulating to them rather than advancing the broad interests of Illinois.
This state is an export power, boasting major manufacturers such as Caterpillar and Boeing. Major employers such as those companies stand to gain from trade deals that eliminate the tariffs other countries impose on our goods -- which are generally higher than the ones the U.S. levies on foreign products.
But it's not just big companies and their workers who have an interest in liberalizing trade. Farmers do as well: Illinois exports more than $3 billion worth of soybeans and $800 million of corn a year.
As Quigley notes, most of the state's exporters are not corporate giants. Of the 23,000 Illinois firms with sales abroad in 2014, 90 percent were small or medium in size. Overall, goods exported from this state brought in $68 billion last year, an increase of 125 percent over the past decade. The administration says those exports support 345,000 jobs.
Of course, Illinoisans also benefit from having access to products made abroad. That's why consumers buy them.
In any case, standing against freer trade is hardly a proven way to protect Americans. China is one of the countries most feared and reviled by organized labor for allegedly destroying jobs here. But we have no free trade agreement with China -- and it's not one of the 12 nations taking part in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
It would be a boon for Illinois if those talks succeed. This is an issue that is important to Illinois and important to Obama's presidency. Sen. Durbin has another chance to side with his president, with his state, with his constituents.
