The Obama administration has invited major U.S. companies and business associations to the White House this Friday (Jan. 29) for a meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that informed sources predicted is an effort by the administration to rally support for early congressional passage of the agreement.
[Daily News| January, 29 2016 | Inside US Trade]
Among those invited are the co-chairs of the Trade Benefits America Coalition and the U.S. Coalition for TPP as well as roughly a dozen trade associations, sources said.
Two sources speculated that administration officials would urge business representatives to be more active in lobbying members of Congress to support quick action on the TPP.
Business representatives have begun a coordinated effort to build support in Congress for the TPP while also pushing for improvements to the deal, but are not yet making a full-fledged lobbying push (Inside U.S. Trade, Jan. 22). This is in part because key Senate Republicans including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have made clear they do not want a vote on TPP prior to the November election.
One business source said the White House has become increasingly worried the TPP vote will not get done this year as it has come to the realization that these Senate Republicans are entrenched in their position.
