The American Soybean Association (ASA) welcomed a vote from the House today that would extend trade promotion authority, or TPA, to President Barack Obama. The bill now moves to the Senate, and is part of an effort by congressional leadership to put TPA back on track following an unexpected defeat of Trade Adjustment Assistance last week that put the legislation in jeopardy.

ASA President Wade Cowan, a soybean farmer from Brownfield, Texas, pointed to the bill as one that would empower the administration, in the form of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), to better represent producers of the nation’s largest farm export heading into finalization of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and other critical negotiations.

“We are again encouraged by the House’s commitment to TPA and encourage the same commitment from the Senate,” Cowan said. “For the better part of a decade, our partners at USTR have been charged with baking a cake without having access to the full complement of ingredients, if you will. TPA would give them the authority and the resources they need to represent most completely the needs of American farmers in global trade agreements.”

Cowan also highlighted that TPA is a vital component to completing the pending TPP, as well as upcoming negotiations with Europe.

“TPA has always been step one as we look to forge strong agreements that help to make American agriculture—and soybean farmers in particular—so competitive in international markets,” Cowan said. “With TPA in hand, we now turn our attention to finalizing an agreement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership that includes vital export markets for U.S. soybeans and meat products, as well as the developing markets that grow in their demand for American soy every day. We look to the Senate to take up and pass this legislation as quickly as possible.”