US President Barack Obama and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera built new momentum behind a proposed pan-Pacific mega trade pact Tuesday during talks at the White House.
Obama billed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would encompass 40 percent of the global economy, as a “high-standard, high-level trade agreement” uniting the “most dynamic and fastest-growing region of the world.”
“Chile has been an excellent partner with us in trying to bring this multilateral trade agreement to a close,” Obama said.
Delegations from Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam hope to conclude the pact before the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Bali in October.
Pinera said Chile, which already has a bilateral trade deal with the United States, was “fully committed” to the TPP and hoped to get it concluded by the deadline.
Obama has championed the TPP as a way to boost the US economy through trade and to support his signature “rebalancing” of US foreign and military policy towards Asia.
He has called for the deal to include strong labor rights and environmental standards but the proposed deal is opposed by some agricultural groups representing rice farmers in Japan and dairy farmers in North America.
Pinera is on an international tour that will also take him to El Salvador and Panama. Last week he was in Canada.
Obama also offered praise for businessman Pinera’s leadership, saying his record in lifting people out of poverty and bolstering the economy had made his South American nation a world leader.
Obama, Chilean President, push Pacific trade pact
