Obama faces tough questions on Trump on last foreign trip
LIMA(PERU): Barack Obama begins the final foreign visit of his eightyear presidency on Saturday in Peru, facing tough questions from assembled Pacific leaders about Donald Trump’s election victory.
Obama is in Lima for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit that is likely to focus heavily on Trump’s shock victory. On Saturday, he will meet leaders of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which Trump has opposed and now faces an uncertain future. White House officials admit the chances of passing the deal are slim, but Obama will urge leaders to give the new president time to formulate policy.
From Obama down, officials have stressed that US economic and strategic interests have not changed as a result of the election, and Trump may yet recalibrate his views. “It’s only been 10 days since the election,” said US Trade Representative Michael Froman. He warned of “serious” strategic and economic costs if the US walks away from the deal, designed to be a cornerstone of US influence in the Asia-Pacific region. But there is little chance of Trump’s allies in Congress ratifying TPP anytime soon.
“I think that is a blow to US interests, economically and strategically, in terms of our position in Asia, but that is the reality, that the US is not going to be participating,” said Matthew Goodman, an expert on Asian economics with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“But there are 11 other countries in TPP and I think that it is possible that they will agree to go ahead and pass TPP,” he said.