Leaders of two key panels in the US Congress agreed on a deal that would “fast track” President Barack Obama’s authority to finish negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) treaty.
If the bill is passed, it will block Congress from amending the trade agreement while keeping its authority to vote it down, Sputnik reported.
Director of the Russian APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Study Center Natalia Stapran commented on the issue: “The United States is speeding up the TPP project realization on the back of China’s successful initiatives to create the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) project of regional comprehensive partnership (ASEAN+6). Obama reminded the Congress of this, saying that it is the United States who should agree to global trade deals, not China.”
The United States is currently in talks with 11 other Asia-Pacific nations, including Australia, Canada and Japan, on the proposed TTP agreement.
The “fast track” bill would enable the US delegation to discuss the TTP deal at the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, scheduled for May 23-24 in the Philippines, according to the think tank head.
The TTP negotiations coincide with China’s plans to set up the $50-billion AIIB, with a view to financing infrastructure projects in Asia.
Earlier this week, the bank approved 57 countries, including Russia and a host of European nations, as its founding members.
Meanwhile, the 10 ASEAN member states are looking to sign a comprehensive free trade agreement with six other countries in the region, including Australia, China and India, as well as Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.
Increase in Exports
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will help the United States grow its exports by more than $123 billion by 2025 and provide American workers with greater number of high-earning opportunities, US Trade Representative Michael Froman said recently.
“In the Asia Pacific, our main tool for leveling the playing field for American workers and businesses is called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP,” Froman said at the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Washington, DC.
“It will grow our exports by more than $123 billion by 2025, according to one estimate, and support many more high-paying jobs.”
Froman explained the TPP agreement is “the most ambitious trade agenda in American history” because it aims to increase US economic investment in 11 Asian countries that cover nearly 40 percent of the global economy. “The first step toward realizing those gains is to secure bipartisan trade promotion authority. It’s time to get it done,” Froman said.
