[ Daily News| September 22, 2016 | Inside US Trade]
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman and Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake this week emphasized that Republican support is needed to get the Trans-Pacific Partnership over the finish line in the lame-duck session of Congress, acknowledging that the current political climate may not allow them to support the deal until after the election.
Flake — calling the Republican shift away from trade “disconcerting” — expressed hope that his Republican colleagues who have come out against the deal can back it, with changes, after the election.
“We’re in a difficult situation, and I hope that when we get to the lame-duck session I would hope that members can still find a way, with a tweak here or there, to say ‘I can support [trade], particularly TPP,’” Flake said at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute on Sept. 22.
