The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)agreement is poised to be a capstone foreign policy achievement for President Obama, if he can get it through Congress. The path to passage has been smoothed by the Congress creating "fast-track" authority, allowing the agreement to pass on a simple majority vote with no opportunity for a Senate filibuster.
But with the deal being attacked by Bernie Sanders on the left and Donald Trump on the right, some think congresspeople may get squeamish on the final vote.
While opponents characterize the deal as a rule-rigging for corporations at the expense of American jobs, the White House makes its case that the deal creates a level playing field that will boost American jobs.
The "American cherry" is meant to be literal, a "home-grown" cherry "picked with love on a family farm in Washington State." "Today, our cherry is getting ready to be enjoyed the world over," says the narrator, appropriating the warm feelings for the local food movement on behalf of putting mass quantities of food on international flights.
But our heroic cherry is being weighed down by a "20 percent tax" on American cherries levied by Vietnam. A cherry with an American flag stem is shown tied to a giant rock, while an Australian cherry scoots past.
Thankfully, an arm labeled "TPP" saves the day, cutting the rope withscissors.
Liberated, the cherry bounds toward a Vietnamese fruit stand. The narrator cheers, "And that's the kind of deal that puts the American worker, and the American cherry, on top."
The online ad concludes with the slogan, "TPP: Made In America," and a link to more information on the White House website.
The line of argument will likely drive critics of the deal crazy. Because the White House isn't rebutting the charges that the deal ships America jobs overseas; it's ignoring them. It is creating an alternative universe where trade deals haven't been accused of damaging middle-class livelihoods in states once heavy with manufacturing.
If the White House can flip the narrative on the polarizing and volatile issue of trade, that would be quite a political feat.
But with the deal being attacked by Bernie Sanders on the left and Donald Trump on the right, some think congresspeople may get squeamish on the final vote.
Local Cherries Used To Sell Global Trade
The White House is aiming to counter the expected arguments against trade deal in this animated online video, "How the President’s Trade Deal Puts the American Cherry on Top."While opponents characterize the deal as a rule-rigging for corporations at the expense of American jobs, the White House makes its case that the deal creates a level playing field that will boost American jobs.
The "American cherry" is meant to be literal, a "home-grown" cherry "picked with love on a family farm in Washington State." "Today, our cherry is getting ready to be enjoyed the world over," says the narrator, appropriating the warm feelings for the local food movement on behalf of putting mass quantities of food on international flights.
Is TPP "Made In America"?
Playing to American pride, the narrator reminds, "Americans grow and manufacture a lot of top-notch goods, like cars, music and bacon." Noting that 95 percent of the world's consumers are not American, she adds, "when they buy our Made in America products, they support better paying jobs for middle-class Americans here at home."But our heroic cherry is being weighed down by a "20 percent tax" on American cherries levied by Vietnam. A cherry with an American flag stem is shown tied to a giant rock, while an Australian cherry scoots past.
Thankfully, an arm labeled "TPP" saves the day, cutting the rope withscissors.
Liberated, the cherry bounds toward a Vietnamese fruit stand. The narrator cheers, "And that's the kind of deal that puts the American worker, and the American cherry, on top."
The online ad concludes with the slogan, "TPP: Made In America," and a link to more information on the White House website.
The line of argument will likely drive critics of the deal crazy. Because the White House isn't rebutting the charges that the deal ships America jobs overseas; it's ignoring them. It is creating an alternative universe where trade deals haven't been accused of damaging middle-class livelihoods in states once heavy with manufacturing.
If the White House can flip the narrative on the polarizing and volatile issue of trade, that would be quite a political feat.