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TPP pact reached, Groser quoted on ‘ugly compromises’

Negotiators on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement completed their pact late Sunday and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has scheduled a news conference that begins at 9 a.m. and can be viewed on the USTR website. The New York Times noted that increased access had been granted to countries for sugar and dairy, but no details on the contentious agricultural issues of sugar, rice and dairy have been released.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., noted today that the trade promotion authority law requires President Barack Obama’s administration to make the text public at least 60 days before sending it to Congress for consideration.

Ryan said that “only a good agreement — and one that meets congressional guidelines in the newly enacted trade promotion authority — will be able to pass the House.”



“I am reserving judgment until I am able to review the final text and consult with my colleagues and my constituents,” Ryan said. “In particular, I want to explore concerns surrounding the most recent aspects of the agreement.”

Meanwhile, New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser made international news when he told the New Zealand Weekly Herald, “It’s got the smell of a situation we occasionally see which is that on the hardest core issues, there are some ugly compromises out there.”



“And when we say ugly, we mean ugly from each perspective — it doesn’t mean ‘I’ve got to swallow a dead rat and you’re swallowing foie gras.’ It means both of us are swallowing dead rats on three or four issues to get this deal across the line.”

Groser’s comments were first reported in the United States by Washington Trade Daily.

–the Hagstrom Report