CEO DATELINE - Business groups endorse trade agreement
CEO DATELINE - Business groups endorse trade agreement
- January 5, 2016 |
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Walt Williams
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Two major business organizations have officially endorsed a major trade agreement with Pacific Rim countries to give needed nudge to clear Congress.
Passage of a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement has been a major policy priority for the business community. However, the pact has met stiff opposition from both the political right and left, with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both speaking out against it. Recently, Senate Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged President Barack Obama to hold sending the agreement to Congress before the general elections, saying there were not enough votes to pass, the Associated Press reported.
In an attempt to make the agreement more politically palatable, the National Association of Manufacturers officially endorsed the partnership Monday. Business Roundtable issued an endorsement Tuesday.
"Support for the TPP, which allows manufacturers to be more competitive in a global economy, is in keeping with the NAM's principles," NAM CEO Jay Timmons said in a statement. "Without such an agreement, the United States would be ceding economic leadership to other global powers, letting them set the rules of economic engagement in the region."
Business Roundtable's CEO John Engler told the AP his organization hopes Congress approves the agreement before the August recess.
"The hope is to send the signal now that we're getting pretty comfortable with the agreement and let's get ready to give it serious consideration," Engler said. http://yhoo.it/1ReK6P9
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