John Kasich: Refusing to ratify TPP risks America’s role as the world leader
By John R. Kasich October 12 at 4:10 PM
John R. Kasich, a Republican, is governor of Ohio.
Does the United States still have the ability — or the will — to be the undisputed global leader, a role it has held since World War?II? It’s a question to be answered soon by members of Congress as they approve or reject an initiative to give the United States expanded access to 11 countries that represent more than a quarter of the world’s trade, while leveling the playing field for U.S. workers and businesses.
How they vote on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement will affect the course of the United States’ security, prosperity and global influence for the rest of the 21st century and determine whether we advance or retreat from our leadership role at a time of worldwide turmoil and uncertainty.
For me, the only common-sense direction is forward, because trade is the foundation of peace. Not only will the TPP promote peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, but also it will help maintain the United States’ essential strength in that hemisphere at a time of increased Chinese and Russian assertiveness.
Since World War II, the United States has maintained its global leadership by building alliances that helped us fulfill our most important responsibility — protecting Americans militarily and economically — and then sharing those responsibilities and protections with our allied democracies. “Leader of the Free World” was more than a motto we proudly wore in the Cold War and beyond; it was our pledge to the world’s democracies and repressed peoples alike that the United States would never let them down.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/john-kasich-refusing-to-ratify-tpp-risks-americas-role-as-the-world-leader/2016/10/12/a8f8d6fe-9092-11e6-9c52-0b10449e33c4_story.html?utm_term=.930cbaf0942a&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1
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