Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will tell United States congressional leaders and policy makers this week that commerce and trade are as powerful as "ships and planes" when it comes to exerting influence in the Asia-Pacific, as he seeks to breathe life into the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Mr Turnbull, who will spend the week in New York and then Washington, will also use his trip to caution other nations that unless they control the mass flood of refugees around the world, they risk increased political destabilisation.