When President Barack Obama travels to Asia next week, he will try to reassure leaders in the region that he still has the clout to deliver U.S. approval for the sweeping Trans-Pacific Partnership, even though the two candidates vying to succeed him and a congressional leader have said the 12-nation trade deal should not move forward.
The trade pact is the economic pillar of Obama's broader plan to shift U.S. foreign policy toward Asia and counter the rising economic and military might of China.
"It would be a real setback for Obama's legacy and for the rebalance strategy if TPP were not to be ratified," said Matthew Goodman, a former Obama foreign policy adviser now at the CSIS think tank in Washington, D.C.
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