Obama Will Ask for TPP Approval

President Obama said recently at a meeting of state governors he intends to submit the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to Congress this year despite Republican opposition to an early vote.

The president did not explicitly say whether he would try to force a vote on TPP. He acknowledged that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) “had some concerns along the margins of the trade deal,” but said that overall they have been supportive.

McConnell has said he does not believe TPP should come up for a vote before the November election. Ryan has said there are currently not enough votes to pass TPP in the House because of flaws in the agreement, adding that he does not know if and when there will be sufficient support.

Obama said at the National Governor’s Association the presidential race has complicated the trade debate because the top candidates oppose the TPP.

“The presidential campaigns have created some noise within and roiled things a little bit within the Republican party, as well as the Democratic party around this issue,” he said. “I think we should just have a good, solid, healthy debate about it.”

Days later, a senior White House official said the Obama administration is willing to delay to some extent a Congressional vote on TPP in order to get the strongest possible support for the deal. The statement stressed that a delay will cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars.

The American Farm Bureau issued a renewed call for action on the pact, saying TPP “will tear down trade barriers and help level the playing field for U.S. agricultural exports to 11 nations across the Pacific Rim. Ratifying TPP will boost annual net farm income in the United States by $4.4 billion, compared to not improving the pact …” S