Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards joined the governors of Iowa and Virginia today in calling on Congress to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying the agreement would help farmers, manufacturers and port workers in their states, The Associated Press reports.
Edwards says Louisiana has the largest port complex in the U.S., which would benefit from an increase in exports of agricultural and manufacturing products.
“It’s a big deal for Louisiana,” he says.
The trade pact would more closely link the economies of 12 Pacific Rim countries, reducing tariffs on thousands of products and setting other rules for trade. Supporters say the agreement would increase exports and give the U.S. major influence over trade in Asia, warning that China will step in otherwise.
But the plan has faced criticism from the far left and right.
Breaking with the GOP’s traditional support for trade agreements, presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump has attacked the deal as bad for American workers. Democrat Hillary Clinton came out against the agreement after supporting the plan when she served in the Obama administration. Many on the left see the deal as giving large corporations too much power at the expense of workers and the environment.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime backer of Hillary and Bill Clinton, says critics were unfairly blaming trade for the loss of jobs.
Edwards, McAuliffe and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad dismissed attacks on the agreement—and opposition from both leading presidential candidates—as misguided. They joined with U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, who is leading the Obama administration’s efforts to sell the plan to a skeptical Congress and public.
The group spoke at the EFCO Corp. in Des Moines, Iowa, a maker of concrete support systems that are used to build buildings and bridges. The governors are in Iowa for the summer meeting of the National Governors Association.
