WASHINGTON—Leading business groups, often at odds with President Barack Obama, are looking to give momentum to one of his top priorities before he leaves office: approval of a trade pact linking 12 nations along the Pacific Rim that make up 40 percent of the world economy.
The Business Roundtable, made up of chief executive officers from large U.S. companies, endorsed the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement on Tuesday. A trade group representing manufacturers did the same Monday.
Their influence could make supporters in Congress more eager to take the agreement up in an election year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell recently urged Obama to hold off on sending the agreement to Congress before the elections, warning that it didn’t have the votes.
John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable and a former Republican governor of Michigan, said his organization is hoping Congress will approve the pact before its August recess.
“The hope is to send the signal now that we’re getting pretty comfortable with the agreement, and let’s get ready to give it serious consideration,” Engler told the Associated Press.
The trade agreement took more than five years to stitch together. Participating nations would reduce or eliminate thousands of tariffs that apply to foreign-made goods. The agreement also rolls back regulatory requirements, such as the need to establish an office in a particular country or partner with a local entity, in order to access their markets.
