President Obama has launched what promises to be a monthslong public relations push to get skeptical lawmakers on board with a controversial trade deal between the U.S. and Pacific nations, and he used a brief speech at the Agriculture Department Tuesday to recruit top business leaders to help promote the landmark agreement.
While the White House concedes that many lawmakers — including top Democrats, such as 2016 presidential candidate Sen. Bernard Sanders — will remain opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Mr. Obama and other officials have locked arms with top business leaders and some Republicans as they seek congressional approval for the deal.
Before delivering his remarks, the president met with officials from the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Association of Manufacturers, along with leaders from top companies such as Marriott International. He made the case that the Pacific trade deal — which faces an uncertain future on Capitol Hill amid provisions targeting the tobacco industry, among other concerns — will be an economic boon for the U.S.
Mr. Obama promised that he’ll continue promoting the deal in the coming weeks.
“We are going to be talking not just to members of Congress, but the American public and various constituencies and governors and mayors who are represented here about why this is good for their communities,” he said. “And so we’re going to have months before this actually comes up for a vote. People are going to have plenty of time to go over it. I suspect that there will be some misinformation that is propagated around this, as there usually is in these debates. But I’m also confident that the case to be made for why this is good for America is sufficiently strong, that ultimately we’re going to get this done, and it will be an enormous achievement for us” to implement the deal.
The administration argues the Trans-Pacific Partnership, commonly known as the TPP, is vital to opening Asian markets to U.S. goods. The agreement would include the U.S. and 12 Pacific Rim nations.
Despite bipartisan support and the backing of powerful groups in the business community, TPP faces stiff resistance from liberal Democrats who say it doesn’t go far enough to protect American jobs and fails to put in place adequate environmental standards.
Outside of those big-picture complaints, lawmakers have raised a number of concerns related to several specific industries. Perhaps most notably, tobacco state lawmakers have objected to the fact that countries’ health departments will be able to restrict or heavily tax the sale of American-produced cigarettes and related products.
Other lawmakers, including some who previously voted to give the president so-called “fast-track” authority to negotiate trade deals without Congress, fear the deal won’t prevent Asian nations from engaging in currency manipulation.
“U.S. workers and businesses are the best in the world, and it is critical to our country’s economic future that they are able to compete in a fair global marketplace. For that reason, it is critical the TPP include strong, enforceable protections against currency manipulation,” more than 160 House members wrote in a recent letter to the president.
In trying to rally support for the agreement — which eventually will come up for a vote in Congress — administration officials have indicated they’re ready and willing to work with the business community, which has had sharp differences with Mr. Obama on everything from health care to environmental regulations.
“When it comes to the TPP even organizations like the Chamber [of Commerce], with whom the president has had significant political disagreements, even they agree this agreement is in the best interest of American workers,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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