Obama has found some high-ranking Republicans to back him in his move to compete with China on trade, but his own party is pushing back at his efforts.
President Barack Obama has begun a sales pitch to the U.S. public on free trade deals, something his own party is skeptical of.
Obama has announced his intention to work with Congressional Republicans to finalize what is known as hte Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact, which would include 40 percent of the world economy and countries as far apart as Japan and Chile, according to a Reuters report.
Obama said that he was the “first to admit” that trade deals haven’t always “lived up to the hype,” but the U.S. should still seek reasonable deals with allies, according to the report.
In order to get the ball rolling, first Obama will need to success in getting Congress to put legislation on the fast track that will help streamline such trade deals.
He faces plenty of opposition on both sides of the aisle. The report quotes a Pew Research Center poll that shows Americans, both Democrats and Republicans, are skeptical about such trade agreements, with only one in five believing they create jobs or lead to higher wages.
Republicans have been more likely to be accepting of such deals, and Obama has a key ally in Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, as he has pledged to introduce legislation that would speed up passage of such agreements this month.
Another typically staunch foe of the president, newly minted Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said Obama should “continue what must be a sustained effort to move his own party forward” by working on this trade legislation, according to a statement he released.
However, such a move has fallen afoul of labor and environmental groups, who have allied with hostile Democrats in fighting such legislation. During Obama’s appearance at the Democratic National Committee, people could be seen wearing “Stop Fast Track” stickers.
Obama said that such authority would help promote businesses, protect workers, and result in higher wages. He also said it was necessary if the United States wanted to compete with China, which exports heavily around the globe.
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