WASHINGTON, United States (Reuters) — Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, on a landmark visit to Washington D.C., said on Monday (August 01) he understands that the Obama administration’s efforts to push the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) have been “politically difficult” in an election year, but he hopes the focus will remain on the “bigger picture”.
Loong will meet with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, when Obama is expected to extol the TPP trade deal and commit to getting the deal done, even though Obama’s fellow Democrats panned it at their convention this week.
Both Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump oppose the TPP, and it has become a hot-button issue in the campaign to replace Obama.
Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Lee said he understood concerns about the TPP.
“And in pushing the TPP and bringing it about, or concluding the negotiations, the Obama administration clearly understands the TPP’s role in securing America’s future, not just its prosperity, but also its place in the world. We know this has been politically difficult, it’s a very tough election year, American people are wary of U.S. global engagement. And economic uncertainty has led to concern about jobs, worries about competition from overseas. These are all understandable, even valid concerns, but we hope that all parties will focus on the longer term bigger picture, because there are no winners, only losers with protectionism,” he said.
Obama wants the U.S. Congress to approve the 12-nation trade deal, which he sees as a central part of his economic and foreign policy legacy, before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20.
Free trade deals have been blamed for U.S. manufacturing plant closures, job losses and stagnant wages. Obama has cast the TPP as righting the wrongs of past trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada. Both countries also are part of the TPP.
Singapore’s Lee said on Monday that America should commit to the existing agreement.
“Nobody wants to reopen negotiations. Everybody would like to have something better but nobody wants to reopen the process with no prospect of doing better and every chance of having it fall apart. Asian countries want America to be engaged. We need to know that this engagement will be sustained and we need to know that agreements will be upheld and that Asia can depend on America,” he said.
Congressional leaders have been pessimistic about the odds of ratifying the deal either during the short session in September, or during the brief “lame duck” session after the Nov. 8 election.
Donald Trump has argued vociferously against multinational trade deals like TPP, saying he would prefer instead to have deals with specific countries one on one.
