The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations are a major topic in Japan, but few Americans even know about it or understand it. Those who do know about it, mainly in the business world, are quite leery of it. The TPP is not a priority for the Obama administration or Congress, both of which, like Japan, are absorbed with jobs and security. That is one reason very little attention was given to it in discussions between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during their recent summit.
Strident calls for protection within the United States is a big reason for the Obama administration backing off from the "no exceptions to completely free trade" rule. Much more important, yet hardly touched on in events surrounding the summit, is that Obama is now focused on a trade agreement with the European Union.
The deal, titled the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), would represent about 40 percent of global domestic product. It is relatively uncomplicated compared with other free trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the TPP because the U.S. and EU have comparatively similar economies, and language is not an issue.