Obama urges quick approval of TPP deal to gain more regional clout

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday urged Congress to approve the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal as quickly as possible, in a bid to widen his country's influence in Asia and ability to set regional rules.

"We forged a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open markets, protect workers and the environment, and advance American leadership in Asia," Obama said in his final State of the Union address.

"It cuts 18,000 taxes on products Made in America, and supports more good jobs ... Approve this agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it," he added.

While the Obama administration touted the Pacific trade deal as a means to create jobs and write the rules of international trade, a group of Democrats, labor and environmental groups held a press conference on Monday to reiterate their stance of opposing the TPP.

"We know the TPP is too dangerous for us simply to stand aside and let it pass," Rosa Delauro, a House Democrat from the state of Connecticut, said at the press conference. "The details of the TPP tell a very different story -- one that spells danger for our middle class."

The Obama administration is facing widespread opposition from Democrats against the TPP and will have to rely on Republicans to push the deal through Congress.

But business groups and some influential Republican lawmakers, who traditionally back trade deals, have also expressed their disappointment over provisions governing tobacco, pharmaceuticals and financial institutions in the TPP, which was finalized last October after more than five years' negotiation.

"We strongly encourage the Obama administration to work with Congress to address legitimate concerns expressed by industry and legislators to achieve the highest possible standards for American workers and business," Thomas Donohue, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said last week in a statement.

As the presidential campaign heats up and many Republican and Democratic presidential candidates have spoken out against the TPP, it will be very difficult for Congress to pass the trade deal this year, according to trade experts.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned last month that Obama "would be making a big mistake" if he tried to push for a vote on the TPP deal before this year's presidential election.

"It certainly shouldn't come before the election," McConnell told The Washington Post. "There's significant pushback all over the place." Endi