New Poll Shows Support for TPP

Randall Weiseman General, Trade

Trans Pacific PartnershipA New poll from Morning Consult shows the majority of voters favor trade. The poll shows 57 percent of registered voters have a favorable view of “fair trade,” and 50 percent said they would be more likely to support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) if they knew it would provide new markets overseas for U.S. farm products.

The American Farm Bureau Federation says the results are something “all candidates should keep in mind as a congressional vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement comes closer to reality.”

Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said “the more people know, the more they will support this vitally important agreement.”

Other findings include: 52 percent of voters say they would be more likely to support TPP if they knew the deal would increase annual income in the U.S. by $131 billion, and 69 percent of voters support trade policies that will open new markets for U.S. products and U.S. farmers while less than one in 10, or eight percent, oppose.

Fortune Magazine reported last week that President Barack Obama still has a shot at passing the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. It remains to be a longshot, however, as Congressional leaders claim the agreement does not have enough support to pass Congress.

The President is expected to send the agreement to Congress following the November elections. However, time in the lame-duck session is limited. Lame-duck sessions typically last about a month.

(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasters News Service)