TPP Updates: McConnell, No Congressional Approval This Year

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the Senate will not vote on the TPP agreement this year, seemingly foreclosing the possibility of passage during President Obama’s tenure. Administration officials continue to push for the deal and hold out hope as Treasury Secretary Jack Lew noted in comments at the Brookings Institute. Meanwhile, President Obama will have to assuage concerns of U.S. trade partners during the Group of 20 nations meetings in China.

McConnell left open the possibility that a reworked agreement could pass in the next administration, but both major party candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, have opposed the TPP in its current form. Some nations, including Japan, New Zealand, and Singapore, have stated that revisions will not be possible.

Stay tuned to the Big Molecule Watch for further developments.