Biden to Pelosi on TPP: "Nancy, I know it’s not coming up now”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/us/politics/biden-remark-casts-doubt-on-pillar-of-us-trade-agenda.html

Trade Pact With Asia Faces Imposing Hurdle: Midterm Politics
By MARK LANDLER and JONATHAN WEISMAN | FEB. 14, 2014

WASHINGTON — President Obama’s ambitious trade agenda appeared to fall further victim to election-year politics on Capitol Hill on Friday when Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in a closed-door retreat with House Democrats, said he understood why they would not grant Mr. Obama the crucial authority he needs to conclude large trade deals with Asia and Europe.

Mr. Biden’s comments most immediately called into question the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a regional pact among 12 nations that would be one of the world’s biggest trade agreements. It is a central element of Mr. Obama’s strategic shift toward Asia, and the White House had hoped to complete it last year. Responding to a question at the policy retreat for House Democratic leaders in Cambridge, Md., Mr. Biden said he understood that legislation for expedited consideration in Congress for free-trade agreements, known as fast-track authority, was not coming up for a vote now, according to several people who were in the meeting.

White House officials insisted that Mr. Obama was not ceding the battle, either to win fast-track authority or to pass the broader trade deals. The European trade deal, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, is also affected by fast-track authority, which is viewed as essential to passing any agreements, and it is one area on which the president and Republicans agree.

“While the vice president said he understands where some members of the House and Senate are coming from,” said a senior administration official, “he made a clear case for the administration’s trade priorities, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.”