Now that Congress has granted President Barack Obama the power to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement without interference, attention will be focused on whether he can take advantage of the reinvigorated talks to seal both the deal and his legacy before his departure in 2017.

The Obama administration has said the United States should be a strong Pacific country in the face of a rising China, and the giant free trade pact being formed with Japan and 10 other countries in Asia, Oceania and the Americas has been the main plank of his pivot to Asia.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter even compared the significance of the TPP to a new aircraft carrier in executing Obama's "rebalance to Asia" policy.