Dan Ikenson of the Cato Institute and the editors of the Washington Post both think that the administration gave away the store to congressional Democrats.

The Post points out that the Democrats got a longstanding goal in return for almost no promises of action on liberalizing trade:

The Democrats walked away with an achievement they and their labor union allies have been seeking for at least 15 years: direct incorporation of enforceable labor and environmental rules into free-trade agreements signed by the United States. . . . The Democrats are talking favorably about the passage of only the two smallest trade deals, with Peru and Panama, whose combined trade with the United States in 2005 amounted to less than $10 billion. They are still withholding support for the most important pacts, in political and economic terms: with Colombia, a staunch ally of the United States and a regional rival of Venezuela that has become a target for the left; and with South Korea, the only one of the four whose exports amount to more than a rounding error in U.S. accounts.
As for Doha — the only accord that would truly advance the cause of free trade, and help the U.S. and global economies — the Democrats promise only to think about it.

Ikenson zeroes in on the effect of the concessions to the Democrats on our negotiations with other countries.

In 1996, WTO trade ministers at the conclusion of their first biannual meeting in
Singapore issued a strong statement of consensus on the issue of labor standards. The statement declared support for core labor standards, but opposed the idea of enforceable labor provisions in trade agreements. Standards are promoted by “economic growth and development fostered by international trade and further trade liberalization,” the statement read. Imposing conditions on trade and investment with poor countries only slows economic growth, which prevents labor standards from rising, was the gist of the statement.
Today, the WTO comprises even more developing countries than in 1996. Their position against enforceable labor standards is even more entrenched. They don’t oppose better local labor and environmental conditions, but fear that rich countries will use those provisions as a fig leaf to achieve protectionist outcomes. The legitimate concern is that the potential to allege labor or environmental violations, regardless of merit, will deter foreign investment in local factories and in other areas of the local economy, which is the real key to raising standards.
Thus, despite suggestions that the last week’s deal opens up the door to continued progress on Doha, reality is quite different. The United States has only introduced another obstacle that will calcify the current North-South divide in the Doha negotiations.