President Obama: The TPP would let America, not China, lead the way on global trade
By Barack Obama May 2
Barack Obama is president of the United States.
Over the past six years, America’s businesses have created more than14 million new jobs.
To keep this progress going, we need to pursue every avenue of economic
growth. Today, some of our greatest economic opportunities abroad are
in the Asia-Pacific region, which is on its way to becoming the most
populous and lucrative market on the planet. Increasing trade in this
area of the world would be a boon to American businesses and American
workers, and it would give us a leg up on our economic competitors,
including one we hear a lot about on the campaign trail these days:
China.
Of
course, China’s greatest economic opportunities also lie in its own
neighborhood, which is why China is not wasting any time. As we speak,
China is negotiating a trade deal that would carve up some of the
fastest-growing markets in the world at our expense, putting American
jobs, businesses and goods at risk.
This
past week, China and 15 other nations met in Australia with a goal of
getting their deal, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,
done before the end of this year. That trade deal won’t prevent unfair
competition among government-subsidized, state-owned enterprises. It
won’t protect a free and open Internet. Nor will it respect intellectual
property rights in a way that ensures America’s creators, artists,
filmmakers and entrepreneurs get their due. And it certainly won’t
enforce high standards for our workers and our environment.
Fortunately,
America has a plan of our own that meets each of these goals. As a
Pacific power, the United States has pushed to develop a high-standard
Trans- Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that puts American workers
first and makes sure we write the rules of the road for trade in the
21st century.
This agreement strengthens America’s economy. The TPP brings together12 countries representing nearly 40 percent of
the global economy to make sure that private firms have a fair shot at
competing against state-owned enterprises. It keeps the Internet open
and free. It strengthens the intellectual property protections our
innovators need to take risks and create. And it levels the playing
field by setting the highest enforceable standards and by removing
barriers to selling our goods overseas — including the elimination of more than 18,000 taxes that
other countries put on products made in America. Simply put, once the
TPP is in place, American businesses will export more of what they make.
And that means supporting more higher-paying jobs.
This
agreement also strengthens America’s national security. When fewer
people suffer in poverty, when our trading partners flourish and when we
bind our economy closer to others in a strategically important region,
America is both stronger and safer.
But
none of this will happen if the TPP doesn’t become a reality. That’s
because the Asia-Pacific region will continue its economic integration,
with or without the United States. We can lead that process, or we can
sit on the sidelines and watch prosperity pass us by.
If
we don’t get the TPP done, American goods will continue to face high
tariffs and other trade barriers in the region. American businesses will
lose competitive access to Asian markets, which would mean fewer of the
cars our autoworkers manufacture would make it to growing markets, more
of our farmers’ and ranchers’ products would run into barriers abroad,
and small-business owners hoping to sell their goods abroad would still
find themselves ensnared in red tape. If we don’t get the TPP done,
employers across America will lose the chance to compete with other
countries’ companies on a level playing field. And when American workers
and businesses compete on a level playing field, no one can beat us.
I
understand the skepticism people have about trade agreements,
particularly in communities where the effects of automation and
globalization have hit workers and families the hardest. But building
walls to isolate ourselves from the global economy would only isolate us
from the incredible opportunities it provides. Instead, America should
write the rules. America should call the shots. Other countries should
play by the rules that America and our partners set, and not the other
way around.
That’s
what the TPP gives us the power to do. That’s why my administration is
working closely with leaders in Congress to secure bipartisan approval
for our trade agreement, mindful that the longer we wait, the harder it
will be to pass the TPP. The world has changed. The rules are changing
with it. The United States, not countries like China, should write them.
Let’s seize this opportunity, pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership and
make sure America isn’t holding the bag, but holding the pen.