President Obama expressed hope Tuesday that his administration’s pursuit of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade deal would become a stepping stone to a subsequent Pacific Rim trade agreement that included China as well.
In his official remarks at the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in Beijing, Obama commended China for its efforts toward the creation of an eventual Free Trade Area of the Asian Pacific and said smaller, regional agreements were the building blocks for broader deals.
“We see our engagement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a contribution towards that effort. I look forward to the day when all of our economies can be linked together in a high-standard, 21st century agreement,” Obama said.
Obama has been eagerly pursuing finalization of the international negotiations for TPP in the hopes of getting it to Congress and approved before his term ends. China has not been among the negotiators, however, limiting the deal’s effectiveness as a standard agreement for that region.
The president also indicated that APEC would have to do more to promote openness and to allow corporations and nongovernmental organizations to have more say in negotiations. He also made a point of arguing that APEC leaders had already agreed to certain to standards and must now follow through.
“We welcome APEC’s commitment to help all our economies streamline procedures and build capacity so we can meet our goals of reducing the time and the costs of border crossings by 10 percent by next year,” the president said.
