Advertisement
Advertisement
Barack Obama
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Opposition to trade efforts favours China, says Obama

Obama: Trade politics difficult, but opposition helps China

US President Barack Obama defended his efforts to broaden commerce with Asia and Europe and warned that opposition would give China a leg up in setting the rules for international trade.

Barack Obama
AP

US President Barack Obama defended his efforts to broaden commerce with Asia and Europe and warned that opposition would give China a leg up in setting the rules for international trade.

Conceding that trade is a difficult topic for his Democratic Party, Obama sought to reassure critics by saying deals with Asia and Europe would have enforceable labour and environmental protections. His remarks on Friday came a day after leading members of Congress had reached a deal that would pave the way for the broadest US trade policy pact seen in years.

"The fastest-growing markets, the most populous markets are going to be in Asia," Obama said. "If we do not help to shape the rules so that our businesses and our workers can compete in those markets, then China will set up rules that advantage Chinese workers, and Chinese businesses."

Under the agreement reached in Congress, Obama would get so-called trade promotion authority to negotiate trade that Congress could approve or reject, but not change. Congress still has to vote on such fast-track authority, and many Democrats, including strong Obama allies, have vowed to fight it.

"In many ways this is the most far reaching and progressive trade promotion authority that we have seen going through Congress," Obama said at a White House news conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. "It is entirely understandable that there is some scepticism around trade from working families who saw manufacturing collapse and jobs being outsourced."

Obama noted that Japan was among the nations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and that currently the US imported more Japanese cars than Japan did from the US.

"The current situation is not working for us," he said. "I don't know why it is that folks would be opposed to us opening Japanese markets more for US autos or for US beef. It doesn't make any sense."

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Opposition to trade efforts favours China: Obama
Post