Warren: Trade bill could 'tear down' Wall Street oversight

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the next big threat to keeping Wall Street risk-taking in check is an upcoming fast-track trade bill — a top priority for President Barack Obama that has attracted liberal opposition.

The Massachusetts Democrat said late Tuesday that giving the president greater leeway to negotiate trade deals for years to come is a dangerous proposition because of the chance that a Republican who wants to roll back Dodd-Frank, like Sen. Ted Cruz, could win the White House in 2016.


“I very much hope that a Democrat wins the White House in 2016 and again in 2020. But what happens if we have a Republican president in 2016 or 2020? Ted Cruz has already said flatly, ‘We need to repeal Dodd-Frank,’” Warren said in a speech prepared for a Washington dinner hosted by the Institute for New Economic Thinking. “Republicans have been itching to tear down Dodd-Frank from the moment it passed.”

Warren launched her latest salvo against the administration’s trade policy as Obama attempts to persuade Congress, in particular fellow Democrats, to approve the trade bill to help him wrap up agreements he is negotiating with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Warren’s attempt to link the fast-track bill with Wall Street oversight, specifically Democrats’ signature 2010 Dodd-Frank law — which sought to strengthen banking regulations after the 2008 crisis — will put some of her more trade-friendly colleagues in an awkward spot.

“Let me put this as simply as I can: After fighting hard to protect Dodd-Frank for years, Democrats in the next few weeks could give Republicans the very tool they need to dismantle Dodd-Frank,” Warren said. “Anyone who supports Dodd-Frank and who believes we need strong rules to prevent the next financial crisis should be very worried.”

Wall Street banks have kept a close eye on recent trade negotiations, particularly the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with Europe, and have pushed for financial regulation to be part of the talks. Last month, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said in a joint statement that it is “vital” that the European trade agreement cover financial regulation.

Big banks on both sides of the Atlantic are gearing up to use the agreement to “water down” regulations, Warren said.

“A six-year fast track bill is the missing link they need to make that happen,” she said.