Key US Lawmaker Urges Obama To Press Trade Deal In Asia Trip
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A key lawmaker urged U.S. President Barack Obama to
use his trip to Asia this week to announce that the White House will be a "
robust participant" in negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.
Sen. Max Baucus (D., Mont.) said the talks provide the U.S. an opportunity to
play a larger role in a critical region and strengthen ties with fast-growing
economies like Vietnam.
"This integration will continue with or without us," Baucus, the chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee, told a breakfast forum here. "We must participate
in it."
The Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed by New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and
Brunei in 2005, but the U.S. has put its own negotiations on hold while the
White House reviews the U.S. trade agenda.
Speaking in Singapore Tuesday, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said the
talks are "the most practical way to be engaged" with the region. But he
declined to say if or when the U.S. would resume negotiations over the
agreement, which could serve as a test case for a wider free trade zone.
Obama leaves Thursday for Japan, Singapore, South Korea and China. In
Singapore, the president will participate in the annual Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation summit, where he will be pressed on the administration's trade
stance.
In his remarks in Washington, Baucus called for the U.S. to create a "new
blueprint on trade," saying the absence of a trade agenda in Obama's first 10
months in office has been palpable.
"We must make it clear the United States is open for business," Baucus said,
adding that the U.S. also must address labor and environmental concerns in trade
deals and devote significant resources to enforcement.
Baucus shed no light on when outstanding trade agreements with South Korea and
Colombia would move forward. The farm-state lawmaker said South Korea must allow
market access for all ages and cuts of U.S. beef and address the concerns of
American auto makers. He said Colombia needs to demonstrate that it can and will
protect its workers before that deal advances.
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
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