Dear Editor,

Re: the guest commentary “Keep TPP in the Sunshine” in the May 22 Colorado Statesman:

Sorry, George Leing, but you’re wrong on this one.

Fast track authority does not deprive Congress of the ability to approve or disapprove a fully defined trade agreement. What it does do is establish an agreement between the legislative and executive branches that the final compromise will receive an up-or-down vote, without amendment.

Without fast-track authority, no other country will be prepared to have a robust negotiation because whatever is agreed will be subject to an unlimited number of amendments – many of them political footballs rather than serious proposals. As an attorney, George, you know that many corporate agreements are negotiated by executives subject to the final approval of the board of directors – this is no different.

If you don’t like a trade agreement, tell your representative to vote against it when the president presents it for approval – but let’s not deprive America’s hard working taxpayers of the potential benefits of free trade before a negotiation even really begins.

Eric WeissmannBoulder