Obama, Singapore PM push for TPP trade deal approval

The US president and the Singaporean prime minister affirmed their commitment to the trade deal, despite opposition.

US President Barack Obama affirmed his commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Picture: AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski.

President Barack Obama, after meeting Tuesday with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the two leaders were still committed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, despite increasingly long odds of US approval this year.

Speaking at a joint news conference, Mr Obama said the 12-nation trade agreement “levels the playing field for our workers and helps to ensure countries abide by strong labour and environmental rules.”

The president acknowledged the US political environment where many voters have turned sharply against globalisation and international trade, as well as the fact that previous trade agreements had cost jobs. But he said that he had a “better argument” on the trade deal than his detractors, which include both Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

“There’s a real problem but the answer is not cutting off globalisation. The answer is how do we make sure that globalisation, technology, automation — those things work for us, not against us. TPP is designed to do precisely that,” said Mr Obama.

The TPP has emerged as an unexpected area of bipartisan opposition on the presidential campaign trail this year. Though Mrs Clinton praised the agreement while serving in the Obama administration, she has run a campaign opposing it. Mr Trump has made opposition to TPP, the North American Free Trade Agreement and outsourcing a key part of his campaign.

Mr Lee said he hopes Mr Obama will prompt Congress to act on the trade deal, an effort that has stalled. It could be taken up in the lame-duck session of Congress after Election Day but before the new president is sworn in.

Mr Lee noted that the US system featuring a Congress empowered to serve as a check on presidential power was a challenge in getting the agreement passed.

“It is not so easy to do things,” he said, but added it also made it harder for things to get “completely messed” up.

“We are near the finish line and we hope the countries, particularly the US, will be able to ratify the TPP as soon as possible,” he added.

Mr Lee said that not only was the economic impact of the trade agreement at stake, but also America’s leadership status in the world.

“In terms of economic benefits, the TPP is a big deal. I think in terms of America’s engagement of the region, you have put [your] reputation on the line. It is the big thing that America is doing in the Asia Pacific [region] in theObama administration,” Mr Lee said.

“Your partners, your friends who have come to the table, who have negotiated, each one of them has overcome some domestic political objection, some sensitivity, some political cost to come to the table and make this deal. If at the end, waiting at the altar, the bride doesn’t arrive, I think that people are going to be very hurt,” Mr Lee said.

The appearance was part of a state visit by Mr Lee that includes a lunch at the State Department hosted by Vice President Joe Biden and an elaborate dinner Tuesday evening in the East Room.

Mr Lee was welcomed with a formal arrival ceremony at the White House, followed by a meeting with Mr Obamain the Oval Office.

“This marks the first official state visit by a Singaporean prime minister in over 30 years. It celebrates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between our two nations. And it is a reflection of my friendship and partnership with Prime Minister Lee over the last eight years,” Mr Obama said in brief remarks at the White House. He joked that the hot, muggy Washington temperatures were “Singapore weather.”

In addition, the two leaders also discussed tensions over China’s increasing assertiveness in the region, as well as other economic and security considerations.

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