Vice
President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he sees a "less than even
chance" that the U.S. Congress approves the 12-country Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade pact before the next administration takes office in January.
Biden, speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in
New York, said that the brief "lame duck" session of Congress after
the Nov. 8 presidential election was "our only real shot" for
approving TPP.
The sweeping trade deal
has been a central plank in President Barack Obama's foreign policy shift to
counter the rising economic and military might of China, and has been broadly
supported by U.S. business interests.
But the TPP is opposed
by both the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates, who have blamed
trade deals for U.S. job losses.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican,
has said the TPP would not get a Senate vote this year, and House of
Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan has said he does not see enough votes for it
to pass.
"Sometimes when there's no election to face and
people are leaving and others who are staying, they may see the wisdom of
TPP," said Biden, who was a long-time Democratic senator, calling the
post-election session "our only real shot" at passing the deal.
"But it's going to be hard. I think it's less
than an even chance, but there is a genuine chance. It's possible we can get it
passed," Biden said.
(Refiles to show comments made on Wednesday, not
Tuesday)
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton, editing by G Crosse)
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