Negotiators meeting this week to put the final touches on what would be the biggest free-trade deal in U.S. history must be wondering if their American hosts are helping or hurting the cause.
The talks concern the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement linking several economies -- those of the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and eight other Pacific Rim countries -- whose output exceeds $28 trillion. Along with an even bigger trade deal under way with the European Union, the TPP would create tens of thousands of new jobs in the U.S. and help spur growth in the global economy. Not incidentally, it could also provide a much-needed salve to a wounded White House.
