The ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will be a “litmus test of credibility” for the US in the eyes of its friends and partners, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was reported as saying by Channel NewsAsia today.

At a reception jointly hosted by the US Chamber of Commerce and the US-Asean Business Council yesterday, Lee said that each of the 12 TPPA signatories has had to make sacrifices in order to accept the agreement and there is no appetite to reopen negotiations.

Lee is on his official visit to the United States from Sunday till next Friday.

In urging US lawmakers to ratify the TPPA, Lee said that the agreement is vital to US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region.

He emphasised that it would also be an “economic game-changer” for the US, given that the 12 TPPA parties represent 40 per cent of global GDP, a third of the world’s trade, and a market of 800 million people.

“Improved market access will mean cheaper products for consumers and more exports for manufacturers. It has unprecedented provisions on human rights, intellectual property protections and safeguards for labour and the environment. Strong standards will support innovation and benefit many US technology giants,” Lee was quoted as saying.

“Strategically, the TPPA is vital to the US' engagement in the Asia Pacific. It will add heft to the Asia ‘rebalance’, which cannot just be about the Seventh Fleet.”

The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet is a permanently forward-deployed force based in US Fleet Activities Yokosuka in Japan, with units positioned near Japan and South Korea, the report said.

Lee also said that the Obama administration's efforts at bringing the TPPA to fruition shows that it clearly understands the agreement’s role in securing the US’ future prosperity.

But he acknowledged that it has been politically difficult to champion the deal during a difficult election year.

The TPPA has become a lightning rod for discontent on both sides of the political divide during this US political campaign season.

He pointed out that the American people are wary of active global engagement on the part of the US, and that economic uncertainty has caused concerns about jobs and competition from overseas.

“While these are all valid concerns, we hope that all sides will focus on the longer-term picture. There are no winners, only losers with protectionism. Economic development across the world will be stymied. With less interdependence, the bulwark against conflict and war is weakened.”

While Asian nations want the US to be engaged, they also need to know that this engagement will be sustained, Lee said.

“We need to know that agreements will be upheld and that we can depend on America. Your ratification of the TPPA will therefore be a bold statement of your commitment to and confidence to our region. And I hope all of you here will lend your voices to support this.”

Twelve countries including Malaysia signed the ambitious TPPA on Feb 4, which is set to expand markets, reduce tariffs and promote freer trade.

- Bernama