Singapore leader on why TPP matters for Americans

US President Barack Obama defended a trade deal that would draw the US together with 11 Asian Pacific nations that has come under fire from presidential candidates of both major political parties.

US President Barack Obama and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday (Aug 2) together made a strong pitch for the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement.

The White House has said the agreement would help further break down global trade barriers, open untapped markets, and grow the economy, while providing an important counterbalance to the growing economic strength of China.

Earlier in the day, the two leaders held a joint press conference in which Lee ensured that Singapore would continue to work closely with the United States regardless of who wins this year’s tumultuous presidential election.

President Barack Obama says the new US bombing operation in Libya is needed to drive out Islamic State group militants and restore stability to the troubled North African country.

Obama said the nations’ ties go back almost two centuries when Singapore was still a colony, and the USA had recently emerged as an independent country.

The countries negotiating the TPP are the United States, Vietnam, Singapore, Peru, New Zealand, Mexico, Malaysia, Japan, Chile, Canada, Brunei, and Australia.

TPP is opposed by presidential nominees Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, while Obama’s arguments for the deal from a progressive standpoint haven’t been bought by left-leaning groups like the Sierra Club and the AFL-CIO.

“Right now, I’m president and I’m for it and I think I’ve got the better argument”, Obama said.

Calling Singapore a “rock solid” partner, Obama welcomed Lee after an elaborate ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, where hundreds of USA military members in blue and white uniforms formed an honor guard.

Added Mr Lee: “It is also important to fundamentally address the root source of violent extremism in order to counter the underlying ideology of ISIL as well as to address the issues of extremist and exclusive views being propagated by ISIL”.

“And in pushing the TPP and bringing it about, or concluding the negotiations, the Obama administration clearly understands the TPP’s role in securing America’s future, not just its prosperity, but also its place in the world”, he said. He said other nations such as close US ally Japan have faced political costs at home to make the deal.

Obama said he looked forward to making the case for the trade deal to lawmakers from both parties after the November 8 presidential election, when Congress will be in a lame duck session ahead of the inauguration of Obama’s successor. But critics say the pact undercuts American workers by introducing lower-wage competition and gives huge corporations too much leeway.

Singapore is heavily dependent on global trade. In 2004, it became the first Asian nation to strike a bilateral free trade agreement with the U.S. Last year, the bilateral trade in goods totaled $47 billion, with the U.S. enjoying a $10 billion surplus.

President Barack Obama says Singapore is an anchor for US efforts to boost ties to Asia and has been a “rock-solid” partner. Under Obama, the USA has deployed littoral combat ships in Singapore, and last December, deployed a P-8 Poseidon spy plane there for the first time, amid heightened tensions in the South China Sea. He paid tribute to the tiny nation’s transformation from third world country to a first world country, saying it “punches above its weight”.

The leaders also announced the launch of an exchange scholarship programme to mark the 50 anniversary of their diplomatic relations as well as deepen people-to-people ties.