U.S. Senate Gives Fast Track Approval to TPP Trade Deal

U.S. President Barack Obama scored his most important victory in his second term on Tuesday when the Senate voted to advance a bill to allow fast-track approval of a major international trade bill, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The outcome of the vote had been in doubt as some lawmakers considered whether to continue their support of the bill out of concern that a related workers' retraining program might not pass both houses of Congress. In the end the measure was separated out and will be voted on Wednesday. Passage of the fast-track authority allows Obama to complete the TPP trade deal, which would tie the economies of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico with several Asian and Pacific countries. The terms of the agreement are still unknown to the public and were negotiated in complete secrecy. The U.S. labor movement strongly opposes the TPP as "bad news for workers". Jorge Gestoso reports from Washington. teleSUR