Obama may need new spin on TPP

MOST Washington insiders had expected that by this time US President Barack Obama would have been granted the trade promotion authority (TPA, aka "fast-track" ) by Congress, allowing his administration to move ahead in concluding the negotiations over the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement - the largest trade pact in history involving more than 40 per cent of the world's GDP - and bring it up for vote on Capitol Hill before lawmakers leave Washington for their summer recess in August.

You don't have to be a political expert or a trade analyst to figure out the reasons for the deadlines that the White House set for advancing its ambitious global trade agenda that includes, in addition to the TPP, a free trade accord with the European Union (EU), the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

It is expected that in the coming weeks, the leading potential presidential candidates - including Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Jeb Bush - would announce that they would be running for the White House in 2016, setting the stage for the presidential primary season that will officially commence early next year.