House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said this week that it is “very possible” that the House could vote on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) next year, which contradicts what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested last week when he said the trade pact should be delayed until a new president takes office.
Ryan did not specify a timetable, but he said there was “a lot of promise” in the 12-nation TPP. “The ambition is right were it ought to be,” Ryan said. “The question is, does the agreement deliver on that ambition, and if we conclude that it does, then we want to move as soon as we can.”
Both Ryan and McConnell supported legislation approved by Congress in June that granted Obama trade promotion authority to complete the TPP deal.
Ryan indicated that he had not finished reviewing the final TPP deal and added that “there are concerns from all sides of the aisle on this issue, but it is very important and we want to get it right. I don’t have a date in mind.”
