Permanent Trade Promotion Authority and Market Access Act of 2001

This bill, introduced in 2001, sought to grant the President permanent "fast track" authority to negotiate international trade agreements. Under this authority, any trade deal submitted by the President to Congress would be subject to an up-or-down vote within a specific timeframe, without the possibility of lawmakers adding amendments or changes.

For everyday citizens, the bill aimed to speed up the process of entering into new trade deals, which can influence the price of imported goods and the availability of international markets for American products. While the bill intended to strengthen the U.S. position in global trade negotiations by ensuring partners that agreements would not be altered by Congress, it also would have permanently reduced the ability of individual legislators to modify specific terms of those deals once they were finalized.