U.S. industry wants robust TPP

   A group of more than 35 industry associations in a letter Wednesday to the White House voiced their support for the United States’ effort to negotiate an updated, robust Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
   They also urged the administration to continue the country’s longstanding and bipartisan approach of seeking a comprehensive TPP agreement that covers every commercial sector and sub-sector of the U.S. economy.
   “In an integrated global economy, U.S. competitiveness and jobs are increasingly tied to the ability of U.S. companies to participate in international supply chains and compete in global markets,” the associations wrote. “Excluding products, sub-sectors or sectors will undermine U.S. competitiveness that is tied to such international integration, reducing them TPP’s economic opportunities for U.S. companies and their workers.”
   The associations warned, “If the United States exempts certain products, services, sub-sectors or sectors, other TPP partner countries will do the same and very likely exclude areas of great commercial interest to the United States. The result would be a least-common-denominator outcome that would thwart the high ambitions and economic potential that all TPP negotiating countries seek.”
   Some of the associations to sign the letter are the American Apparel & Footwear Association, American Farm Bureau Federation, Express Association of America, Grocery Manufacturers Association, National Association of Manufacturers, National Foreign Trade Council, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.