Let us (back) in!
A group of 25 Republican senators on Feb. 16, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to reconsider re-joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Montana Sen. Steve Daines, a member of the Agriculture Committee, led the letter.
The letter comes after President Trump’s recent comments to CNBC about being open to rejoining the TPP if he could make a better deal. The letter also comes about a week before President Trump will meet with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Australia is one of the remaining countries in the TPP, along with Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada and Japan.
Within the first month of taking office, President Trump pulled out of the TPP, much to the dismay of American agriculture, as well as other countries who want American agriculture products.
According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the TPP would have opened “foreign markets to U.S. food and agriculture, providing new and commercially meaningful market access and advancing regulations that are transparent and based on science.”
In the letter, the senators write, “As you know, increased economic engagement with the eleven nations currently in the TPP has the potential to substantially improve the competitiveness of U.S. businesses, support millions of U.S. jobs, increase U.S. exports, increase wages, fully unleash America’s energy potential, and benefit consumers. Increasing access to a region and market that has a population of nearly 500 million can create widespread benefits to the U.S. economy.”
“Further, TPP can serve as a way to strengthen ties with our allies in the region, counter the influence of the People’s Republic of China, and increase pressure on the PRC to adopt substantive and positive economic reforms,” they continued.
A few heavy hitters within the Senate were on the letter, including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch from Utah and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn from Texas. The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over reciprocal trade agreements. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts from Kansas has been one of the more vocal members of the Republican Party, especially when it comes to agriculture’s interests. It’s no surprise his John Hancock was at the bottom. Roberts also serves on the Finance Committee.
Other senators included on the letter are Mike Rounds from South Dakota, James Lankford from Oklahoma, Roy Blunt from Missouri, Jeff Flake from Arizona, Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Johnny Isakson from Georgia, James Risch from Idaho, John Barrasso from Wyoming, Cory Gardner from Colorado, Mike Enzi from Wyoming, Ben Sasse from Nebraska, Jerry Moran from Kansas, Ron Johnson from Wisconsin, Dan Sullivan from Alaska, Chuck Grassley from Iowa, Joni Ernst from Iowa, Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, Todd Young from Indiana, Roger Wicker from Mississippi, John McCain from Arizona, and Richard Burr from North Carolina.
Another good bit of trade news is that the Senate Finance Committee recently cleared C.J. Mahoney, a Kansan, to serve as deputy U.S. trade representative, as well as Dennis Shea to serve as U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization.
Editor’s note: Seymour Klierly writes Washington Whispers for the Journal from inside the Beltway.
