President Barack Obama told governors Monday that he remains "cautiously optimistic" that Congress will approve a sweeping trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim nations this year.
"The presidential campaigns have created some noise" about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Obama said during a question-and-answer session with governors of both parties, meeting in Washington for an annual conference of the National Governors Association. Labor unions, he acknowledged, are "not happy with me. They're adamant in their opposition."
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• TPP deal: New Zealand and 11 other countries strike Pacific trade pact
• Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal to be signed in NZ
The trade agreement, which would lower tariffs between nations that collectively produce about 40 percent of global commerce including Japan, Canada and Mexico, is opposed by much of Obama's own party.
He is counting on Republican congressional leaders to round up enough votes to pass the pact, a cornerstone of the agenda for his last year in office.