OUR REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT:

The Barack Obama administration is optimistic it can secure a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal by the end of the year, although any legislative approval will have to await the next Congress,

Trade negotiators report steady progress on the issues, especially the key deliberations with the Japanese, although the final pieces probably won't be concluded until shortly before the November elections, if then. The politics of trade are upside down: It's the one issue in a deeply partisan Washington where success rests with a Democratic president and Congressional Republicans. 

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