--- title: Pacific Trade Deal Is Good for the U.S. and Obama's Legacy description: The Trans-Pacific Partnership can balance the growth of China without increasing regional tension canonical: https://time.com/4061197/tpp-obama-legacy/ author: Ian Bremmer article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-10-05T16:22:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:22.592Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Pacific Trade Deal Is Good for the U.S. and Obama's Legacy og:description: The Trans-Pacific Partnership can balance the growth of China without increasing regional tension og:url: https://time.com/4061197/tpp-obama-legacy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77ba726a60e961ce/698866de428a9e0b5eccf783/trans-pacific-partnership.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TPP ministers reach agreement og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pacific Trade Deal Is Good for the U.S. and Obama's Legacy twitter:description: The Trans-Pacific Partnership can balance the growth of China without increasing regional tension twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt77ba726a60e961ce/698866de428a9e0b5eccf783/trans-pacific-partnership.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pacific Trade Deal Is Good for the U.S. and Obama's Legacy  by [Ian Bremmer](https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Oct 5, 2015 4:22 PM UTC  Akira Amari (5th from L), Japanese state minister in charge of TPP negotiations, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (6th from L) and delegates from 10 countries attend a joint press conference at a hotel in Atlanta, U.S.A. after reaching an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact (TPP), on Oct. 5, 2015. Akira Amari (5th from L), Japanese state minister in charge of TPP negotiations, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (6th from L) and delegates from 10 countries attend a joint press conference at a hotel in Atlanta, U.S.A. after reaching an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact (TPP), on Oct. 5, 2015.Haruka Takahashi—AP  by [Ian Bremmer](https://time.com/author/ian-bremmer/)  ## Ian Bremmer Oct 5, 2015 4:22 PM UTC After years of talks, the 12 Pacific Rim countries at the bargaining table have announced agreement in principle on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, which covers countries representing about 40% of global economic output. This is a big win for U.S. negotiators and for the other countries involved. It will also be a crucial part of President Obama’s foreign policy legacy. The deal must now be ratified by legislatures of the 12 countries: the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, and Brunei. President Obama has “fast-track authority,” which allows him to put the deal before Congress for a simple up or down vote. It will pass. And all the other countries are expected to pass it, as well. The main remaining question is Canada, where the matter might be decided by an upcoming election. TPP will reduce tariffs across most goods and services and establish new rules for trade and commerce. Its biggest economic impact will be felt in smaller markets like Vietnam and Malaysia. But it will also provide a critical boost for Japan’s economy, helping Prime Minister Shinzo Abe continue to push forward on economic reform. It is likely to add half a percentage point to U.S. GDP growth in coming years, but its larger impact for the United States will come from its geopolitical impact. Washington is doing less in the world these days. That’s what the U.S. public wants and American finances demand. But Asia is an exception, because deeper involvement there can create economic opportunities (like TPP), and because China’s neighbors are eager for a lasting U.S. presence to protect them from over-dependence for growth and security on China. TPP ensures the U.S. will maintain a long-term foothold in this crucial region; it deepens relations with existing allies like Japan, and boosts efforts to strengthen relations with potential partners like Vietnam. Over time, it may even encourage China, which can’t yet meet open-market TPP standards, to join in some form in coming years. If so, it will become an even bigger win for the U.S., for Asia, and for the entire global economy. The deal certainly has its critics. Hillary Clinton, who called this agreement the “gold standard” of trade deals when she served as Secretary of State, has reversed her position. Other prominent Democrats oppose it. They have reason. This deal will make it easier for manufacturing jobs to be shipped overseas. In reality, however, the greatest threat to U.S. manufacturing jobs comes from automation and other technological advances, not from trade. If this deal were judged purely on its economic merits, it would still be a good agreement for the U.S., but just barely — and only with important tradeoffs. But in a world where China is using its economic weight to cut new trade deals that align other countries to (less open) Chinese economic standards, TPP is very good thing indeed. That’s why, on balance, this is a good deal for the United States and an important win for the Obama administration. ### See Photos of Barack Obama in College  Chance Encounter In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named Lisa Jack, who asked him if he would be willing to pose for some black and white photographs that she could use in her portfolio. Lisa Jack  Handsome Of her first meeting (in a campus eatery) with Obama, Jack remembers only that "He was really cute. But what else does a 20-year-old girl remember?" Lisa Jack  Styled In the photos, Jack says, "You can see he is just posing, initially, but as the shoot goes on, he starts to come out. He was very charismatic even then." Lisa Jack  Prop Jack never realized her dream of becoming a photographer and is now a psychologist. Lisa Jack  Pose Jack and Obama would see each other only a few more times while students. But in 2005, while on a tour, she spotted Obama on Capitol Hill and yelled hello. "He knew exactly who I was after all this time," Jack says. "I was amazed." Lisa Jack  Doubt On a dare from a skeptical friend, Jack decided to track down her negatives from the shoot. Lisa Jack  Searcher Initially, before she dug the film out from her basement, Jack never thought her pictures would have much life beyond her own darkroom. Lisa Jack  Smile When she found them, the images of Obama "blew me away," she says. "I had no idea I'd taken a whole roll of film." Lisa Jack  Charm For a while, Jack put the negatives in a safety-deposit box, so that they could not be used until after the election, when there would be no chance they could be used for a political purpose.  Thoughtful Today, Jack says, she hopes the photos reveal a "spirit of fun and thoughtfulness." Lisa Jack  The Man Who Would Be President "I'm not political," Jack says, "(But) these are historic photos and they should be shared." 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