There has been a lot of hand-wringing going on about the apparent demise of the so-called Doha round of world trade negotiations. Here, I’ve been hoping that the reports of the demise are, in fact, not a Mark Twain-like premature wish. But, buried in today’s New York Times story on the last-ditch effort to make a deal is a little nugget that we should pay more attention to:

Reaching an agreement soon is important because next year President Bush will lose fast-track authority, which allows him to send a trade agreement to Congress for a simple yes-or-no vote without amendments.

Yes, it’s true that fast-track authority expires in 2007. The question is: will Democrats be united in opposing the renewal of fast-track authority? And are unions making opposition to fast-track authority a demand when candidates come knocking seeking support…and money?

The dangers and inherent undemocratic nature of fast-track authority can be seen even better in the light of the behavior of this administration. Fast-track authority prevents elected representatives of the people–either in the House or Senate–from proposing any amendments to any so-called “free trade” agreements. It’s a take-it-or-leave-it proposition when these deals come before the Congress. Excuse me if I think that that smells suspiciously like turning over more power to the executive branch and muzzling the voice of the people. In fairness, Democratic Administrations–read the Clinton Administration–like the power of fast-track so opposition to extending fast-track should not be seen as a partisan issue. No, it’s about making sure the peoples’ representatives have a real say in the shaping of trading relationships around the globe.