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WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday pressed for a groundbreaking pan-Asia-Pacific trade deal, as the country's top trade diplomat joined what is likely to be a tough battle for domestic support.
Obama's top representative Ron Kirk made an impassioned plea for a regional free trade deal, which he said would help boost employment and guide the United States out of the economic doldrums.
Kirk said the United States wanted to deepen and expand the Trans-Pacific Partnership to include new countries, providing a platform for deals that would "serve as a model for the future of American trade".
The partnership – also known as the TPP – currently includes Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The US trade representative, speaking in Washington, said that group could be expanded to create "the largest, most dynamic trade cooperation of our time", according to prepared remarks.
During an Asia Pacific economic summit in Singapore last month, Obama, who has vowed to be the first "Pacific President", agreed to forge an Asia-Pacific free trade area.
Kirk on Tuesday admitted that the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a first step toward that goal, would be difficult.
To forge a high standard TTP deal "among such a geographically diverse group will not be easy," he said, citing agriculture and labour rules as major challenges.
Kirk also sought to assuage concerns within Obama's own Democratic Party that any agreement would adequately address labour rights, as well as environmental concerns.
"The TPP I intend to negotiate and conclude will reflect US priorities and values, enhance American competitiveness, and generate job-creating opportunities for American businesses and workers," he said.
The US currently exports around 747 billion dollars worth of goods a year to the Asia-Pacific region. Obama has pledged to boost exports further as a means of creating jobs.
Kirk denied that a more robust Trans-Pacific bloc would scupper any remaining hopes that a global trade deal can still be found within the World Trade Organisation.
His comments came a day after President Obama's administration notified US lawmakers that they intended to pursue trade deals, and called on their support.
- AFP/so
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