Graham said that regardless of the TPP’s economic merits, Obama understands Lee’s point about USA credibility in the region suffering in the event of the deal’s failure.
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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama’s 12th state dinner is being held Tuesday night for the prime minister of Singapore, a city-state Obama refers to as an anchor for the US presence in Southeast Asia.
Obama made the case that the TPP would lower tariffs on USA goods while also making markets more fair for the country’s workers by making other nations abide by stricter labor and environmental standards. “And I think I’ve got the better argument and I’ve made this argument before, I’ll make it again”, he said.
Dropping out of the TPP could harm USA relations with its allies in Asia, and may cause Japan to question whether it can continue to depend on the United States for security, he said.
US President Barack Obama and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong pledged Tuesday to push for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, saying the pact will promote commercial connectivity among member nations. It awaits approval by the U.S. Congress and the legislatures of other countries party to the deal. He said he was ready to sit down publicly with people on both the right and left of the political spectrum to go through provisions of TPP to address “misinformation” about the agreement. I said so last week.
“I am a strong supporter of TPP because it will reduce tariffs, taxes basically, on American goods, from cars to crops, and make it easier for Americans to export into the fastest- growing markets of the world”.
The TPP runs more than 8,400 pages.
Obama said the USA and Singapore shared a “common vision of a peaceful and prosperous Asia-Pacific and a more secure world”.
In a separate news conference with the media, President Obama also stressed the importance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and how it can potentially allow engineers and entrepreneurs from Singapore to work together with their counterparts in the USA easily without too much restrictions.
But that comment came before the pact was finalized previous year, well after she left the administration. We have to trade with the other 95 percent. And trade has to be reciprocal, that’s the way the global economy works. “But we have failed to provide the basic safety net support that American workers need in order to be able to compete and win in the global economy”, Clinton said during a debate in February.
U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks during a campaign rally at the Omaha North High Magnet School in Omaha, Nebraska, Aug. 1, 2016. Sanders earned loud applause during his Democratic convention speech last week when he said Democrats should seek to block any effort to bring up the deal in Congress.
“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”, Lee said.
It has yet to be ratified by Congress, where legislators have one eye on the November elections.
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“So we’re working in partnership with them to assure that ISIL does not get a stronghold in Libya, even as Libya begins what is going to be a long process to establish a functioning government and security system there”, he said.
