MANILA, Philippines (AP) – The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific nations is drawing potential new members from Asia and criticism from those excluded, as it heads for a tough ride in the U.S. Congress.
Leaders of the trade grouping that spans the Pacific Rim met alongside a regional economic summit on Wednesday in the Philippines and President Barack Obama urged them to ratify the deal “as quickly as possible.”
Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Manila, said he sought Obama’s help in enabling his country to eventually join the accord, which aims to reduce barriers to trade and also set labor and environmental standards.
Aquino said he was expecting an invitation to the join the pact, which currently represents about 40 percent of global trade.
“If the whole idea is to broaden trade, making it exclusive actually defeats the whole purpose of why you enter into all of these agreements,” Aquino told a business conference on the APEC sidelines.