Vote distribution in favour of trade acts (1979, 1988, 2002)

Figure 1 shows the yes/no voting distribution in percentage, first by chambers overall
(left), and then by chambers and party (right) for the trade acts passed in 1979, 1988,
2002 and 2015.13 The figure shows first that the percentage of overall yes votes (dark
grey) shrunk from 1979 to the 2002 vote (the decline in affirmative votes was particularly substantial for the House of Representatives). This could be indicative of
the ‘NAFTA effect’ on TPA support after 1994. The second graph, showing the distribution of yes/no votes by house and party, reveals in particular the substantial reduction in Democrat support (dark blue colour) from 1979 to 2002. While some of
this decrease in support in 2002 could be linked to political opposition as at that time the Congressional majority and the President were Republican, the rate of support among Democrats remained low in the more recent 2015 TPA vote, even though President Barack Obama is a Democrat.