Toomey, in fight for political life, abandons TPP trade deal
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — In a fight for his political life, Pennsylvania’s U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey is abandoning a major international trade deal that has emerged as a divisive campaign issue.
Toomey, a Republican, wrote in an editorial published Wednesday that he’s brought problems with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement to the attention of the Obama administration, but they remain unfixed.
He says the agreement, as it stands now, isn’t a good deal for Pennsylvania and he can’t support it.
Toomey’s opposition puts him in line with labor unions and some Democrats, including his challenger, Katie McGinty. Both Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival, Donald Trump, have opposed it, too.
But it puts Toomey out of step with Republican Senate leaders and a major Toomey backer, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.