If President Obama's mention of the TPP in the State of the Union address falls flat in Congress, and most people pretend they didn't hear it, will we hear the sound of Congress passing the TPP any time soon? This is from Inside US Trade:
Members of Congress on Tuesday night (Jan. 12) gave differing interpretations of the lukewarm response to President Obama's push for congressional approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during his State of the Union address. Obama's call elicited applause from members of his Cabinet and some House Democrats who voted for fast track in 2015, but few others in the chamber.
Several lawmakers said the tepid response showed there is no support right now in Congress for passing TPP, with some saying members simply do not want to tackle an issue as controversial as trade prior to the November election. Many lawmakers agreed that TPP is not likely to be considered until the lame-duck session or later.
But other lawmakers insisted the lack of applause merely reflected the fact that many members of Congress are undecided on the trade pact. Still others downplayed the response and cautioned against reading too much into it.
