The Obama administration is trying to refocus the fight with the president’s own party over trade as a question of US leadership, telling Democrats a failure to deliver a deal with Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries would hurt America’s standing in Asia.
In an attempt to overcome Democratic opposition in Congress to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, administration officials have been lobbying members of Congress and others since Friday’s rebuke from representatives concerned about the impact of Mr Obama’s trade agenda on domestic jobs.
At the core of the administration’s argument is that, if it failed to deliver the TPP, the US would be ceding leadership in Asia to a rising China. That would have consequences beyond trade and hit US efforts on issues from cyber security to human rights and maritime security in the South China Sea.