Congress is expected to soon begin considering Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and there is growing concern that lawmakers need to move quickly on passage or risk running out of time in a crowded legislative calendar, a trade specialist with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) said last week.

"I think the clock is really starting to become an issue for us on TPA," said David Salmonsen, AFBF senior director of Congressional Relations. "There are a lot of other issues vying for attention now, and you don’t want these trade issues pushing into an election year."

Also adding pressure is the final negotiations on the expansive Trans-Pacific Partnership or TPP, which would link the United States into a...