Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., in a tight reelection campaign, has rejected the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) accord, citing inadequate provisions for drug companies and dairy farmers. He said Congress should “dump” TPP, which President Barack Obama hopes to submit to Congress after the November elections.
A previously strong proponent of trade deals, this year’s elections for president and senators have seen the TPP a focus of those who previously have opposed trade accords, including both presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
President Barack Obama had been counting on garnering enough Republicans for most votes needed to pass the TPP. But in recent weeks the Republican and Democratic political conventions showcased deep mistrust of trade agreements in both parties’ bases.
Toomey said the TPP does not do enough to open up new markets in Japan and Canada for American dairy products, compared with the access the deal would grant to New Zealand farmers eyeing milk exports to the U.S. He also indicated the TPP’s current compromise on the intellectual-property rights for drug makers does not give enough support to American pharmaceutical manufacturers, an issue that has prevented major business groups from endorsing the deal so far.
“We should dump the TPP and return to the negotiating table to get an agreement that would create jobs and economic growth here at home,” Toomey said in an op-ed in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “We should not pass a flawed deal just to get a deal done.”
Toomey is in a tight reelection battle with Democrat Katie McGinty, who also opposes the TPP, and in a state that is also a battleground in the presidential contest.