Obama and Australian PM Tout TPP before Meeting
President Barack Obama on Jan. 19 continued his campaign to sell the perceived benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership before he and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull met at the White House, saying (here) that, when implemented, TPP’s “rules-based” system that both countries helped develop should steer Western relations with Asian Pacific countries in a collaborative, economically prosperous direction. “It reaffirms that in order for us to thrive in the 21st century, particularly economies that are respectful of rule of law and concerned about labor rights and environmental rights, it’s important for us to be making the rules in this region, and that’s exactly what TPP does,” Obama said in published remarks.
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Before the meeting between the two heads of state, Turnbull touted the agreement’s geopolitical benefits, saying TPP will help lay a foundation for an international order “where might is not right, where the law must prevail, where there is real transparency, where people can invest with confidence.” More than contributing to member nations’ GDPs, the pact could help strengthen overall security in the Pacific Rim region, Turnbull said. “The critical thing is the way it promotes the continued integration of those economies, because that is as important an element in our security in the maintenance of the values which both our countries share as all of our other efforts—whether they are in defense or whether they are in traditional diplomacy,” he said.