A bipartisan coalition of House and Senate members sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Hagstrom Report says the letter points out that President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the agreement was wrong and asks her to investigate the “pros and cons of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which was signed by 11 other TPP countries in 2018 without the U.S.”
The legislators say in the letter that “our current trade policy in the Asia-Pacific region needs a strategic direction that includes robust engagement with our allies in the region, similar to what was envisioned by the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
They also say that withdrawing from the trade agreement was a missed opportunity to strengthen U.S. leadership in the global economy and reinforce America’s commitment to a rules-based system for international trade.
“The stakes are exceptionally high,” the letter continues. “The region is home to China, one of America’s biggest rivals, whose values and interests are much different from our own.”
They say that China’s trade practices have violated international rules and the fundamental principles of fairness, causing harm to U.S. businesses and workers.