Bipartisanship may be in short supply in Washington these days, but there are welcome signs of hope on the trade front. As a lead member of the steering committee of the Business Coalition for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), USCIB participated in the October 29 launch of the bipartisan Congressional “Friends of TPP” Caucus.
The caucus’s four House co-chairs – Reps. Dave Reichert (R-WA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Charles Boustany (R-LA) and Greg Meeks (D-NY) – joined Singaporean Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirpuri (speaking on behalf of the 11 TPP country ambassadors in attendance) and business representatives at the launch event in the Rayburn House Office Building.
The Business Coalition for the TPP issued a press release supporting the new caucus and committing itself to working closely with its leaders, in order to build Congressional understanding of, and support for, a TPP agreement that is ambitious, comprehensive, and high-standard.
“The quicker the better,” observed Shaun Donnelly, USCIB’s vice president for investment and financial services. “But USCIB and the business community have been very clear that the critical element here is getting a strong, comprehensive agreement, not racing to cut a mediocre deal in order to meet an arbitrary deadline.”
Staff contacts: Rob Mulligan and Shaun Donnelly
