The US on Tuesday pressed for a groundbreaking pan-Asia-Pacific trade agreement, as the country’s top trade diplomat joined what is likely to be a tough battle for domestic support.
US President Barack Obama’s top trade representative Ron Kirk made an impassioned plea for a regional free trade deal, which he said would help boost employment and guide the US out of the economic doldrums.
Kirk said the US wanted to deepen and expand the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to include new countries, providing a platform for deals that would “serve as a model for the future of American trade.”
The partnership currently includes Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The US trade representative, speaking in Washington, said that group could be expanded to create “the largest, most dynamic trade cooperation of our time,” according to prepared remarks.
During an APEC summit in Singapore last month, Obama, who has vowed to be the first “Pacific President,” agreed to forge an Asia-Pacific free trade area.
Kirk on Tuesday admitted that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a possible first step toward that goal, would be difficult.
To forge a high-standard TPP deal “among such a geographically diverse group will not be easy,” he said, citing agriculture and labor rules as major challenges.
Kirk also sought to assuage concerns within Obama’s own Democratic Party that any agreement would adequately address labor rights, as well as environmental concerns.
“The TPP I intend to negotiate and conclude will reflect US priorities and values, enhance American competitiveness and generate job-creating opportunities for American businesses and workers,” he said.
The US exports around US$747 billion in goods a year to the Asia-Pacific region. Obama has pledged to boost exports further as a means of creating jobs.
Kirk denied that a more robust Trans-Pacific bloc would scupper any remaining hopes that a global trade deal can still be found within the WTO.
His comments came a day after Obama’s administration notified US lawmakers that they intended to pursue trade deals, and called on their support.
Kirk told the lawmakers that despite 175 US trade deals with Asia-Pacific nations, the US had lost a significant share in those markets over the last decade.
“Through the TPP agreement, we intend to reverse this trend,” he said.
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