[CTC] NAM, Chamber, BRT Call For TPP Vote This Year In Letter To Hill, Obama

[Arthur Stamoulis]

NAM, Chamber, BRT Call For TPP Vote This Year In Letter To Hill, Obama
June 16, 2016

Three co-chairs of the U.S. Coalition for TPP today (June 16) called on the congressional leadership of both parties and President Obama to work together for a vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership this year.

"We urge you to redouble efforts and forge a path forward to approve TPP this year," the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber and the Business Roundtable said in a June 16 letter. "We,.. urge you to seize this historic opportunity for the United States by working together other members of Congress and the business community to approve the TPP this year.”

The other two co-chairs of the coalition not signed onto the letter are the Emergency Committee For American Trade (ECAT) and the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The letter was sent the same week that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman urged the National Council Of Farmer Cooperatives to lobby hard for a TPP vote this year.

The letter laid out three arguments for approving TPP this year, which largely reflect TPP supporter's long-standing talking points. The first is that failure to do so would lead foreign countries to negotiate their own trade deals at the expense of the United States.

The second argument is that TPP would offer a "substantial opportunity" to support economic growth and jobs in every state since the eleven TPP countries presently represent the largest combined market for U.S. goods and services in the world. It does not mention that the U.S. already has free-trade agreements with most of the TPP members. Of the remaining five members with which the U.S. does not have an FTA Japan is the largest economy. The others are Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand.

The third argument laid out in the letter is that TPP is critical to promote U.S. economic and strategic leadership in the Asia-Pacific.
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