While the Trans-Pacific Partnership has roiled parts of the Democratic Party, Buckhorn remains an unflagging supporter of the controversial trade deal in his role as chair of the TTP task force with the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Advertisement
Lee will be honored with a state dinner Tuesday, the first held for a Singaporean leader since October 1985, during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, for Lee’s late father, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
He said the trade deal would reduce tariffs on USA goods, make it easier for USA exports to reach the world’s “fastest-growing markets” and “ensure countries abide by strong labor and environmental rules”. I think in terms of America’s engagement of the region, you have put [your] reputation on the line.
“It is absolutely true, the evidence shows that some past trade deals have not delivered on all the benefits that were promised and had very localized costs”, Obama said.
“There have been Republican presidents with whom I disagreed but I didn’t have a doubt that they could function as president”, he said.
“This is daily and weekly where they are distancing themselves from statements he’s making”, Obama said.
Obama said Tuesday he understands the concerns about workers and wages in the United States, but that he believes in the agreement.
It also possible that the attacks on Trump could backfire as some have claimed occurred in the United Kingdom when Obama publicly supported the Remain side in the Brexit referendum, which lost in an upset.
He continued, “It means we have to do everything we can to make sure everybody shares in prosperity”.
Trump spent the days after winning the Republican nomination criticizing a US district court judge’s Mexican heritage. 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.
TPP is opposed by presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, while Obama’s arguments for the deal from a progressive standpoint haven’t been bought by left-leaning groups like the Sierra Club and the AFL-CIO. “Not only will the TPP benefit American workers and businesses, it will send a clear signal and a vital signal that America will continue to lead in the Asia Pacific and enhance the partnerships that link our destinies together”, Hsien Loong said. There has to be a point at which you say this is not someone I can support for president of the United States even if he purports to be a member of my party”, Obama said, “and the fact that, that has not yet happened makes some of these denunciations ring hollow.
But the TPP faces a battle in Congress.
The stated opposition of both main-party candidates has led some political observers to conclude that the lone available window for ratifying the deal in the U.S. Congress is the so-called lame-duck session between the November 8 election and January.
“The answer isn’t to turn inward and embrace protectionism”, Obama said.
“But the answer can not be to back away from trade in the global economy”.
Advertisement
Lee warned in a speech in Washington on Tuesday that America’s credibility on the global stage would be tested by the fate of the agreement.
