Japan & Vietnam Want U.S. To Pass TPP

Japan and Vietnam are pressing the United States to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, despite an uphill political climb in Washington DC.  Right now, the deck seems stacked against TPP action in Congress this year, but that hasn’t stopped key U.S. trading partners from urging ratification.  American Farm Bureau Trade Adviser Dave Salmonsen on whether the foreign pressure will change the chatter during this election-year.

“I take those statements from both Japan and Vietnam do have weight here in Washington and with Congress for both economic and strategic reasons.  Of course, especially Japan has such as large economy, so much of the TPP gain that we’d see”

Vietnam’s planning and investment minister has predicted that President Obama and the U.S. Congress will soon ratify TPP.

“If you’re a smaller country, trade is tough, trade’s competitive, and you want that kind of preferential access the trade agreement brings in order to move your products now or to develop new industries in your country.”

Obama said after the G-20 Summit that the U.S. has “never had a smooth, uncontroversial path to passing trade deals, but they eventually get done.”

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