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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Obama’s trade deal quest follows him to G-7

European leaders watching closely

Julie Pace Associated Press

ELMAU, Germany – President Barack Obama’s politically fraught trade quest in Washington trailed him across the Atlantic on Sunday, as he met with world leaders anxiously watching a debate on Capitol Hill that could impact the status of economic pacts with the Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The leaders spent more than an hour privately discussing trade issues as they opened a two-day meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. The talks in the majestic Bavarian Alps coincided with the delicate debate in Washington over giving Obama the authority to move trade agreements through Congress more quickly.

In addition to the summit events at Schloss Elmau, a one-time artist retreat turned luxury spa, Obama met privately with British Prime Minister David Cameron and joined German Chancellor Angela Merkel for beer and sausages in a nearby town.

Obama and his advisers voiced confidence in the trade push, but the effort faces a deeply uncertain future. The president’s own Democratic Party is largely opposed to legislation that allows Congress to reject or approve, but not change, trade deals negotiated by the administration. In an unusual political role reversal, the president’s reservoir of support has come from his Republican opponents.

If Obama succeeds, it would boost the prospects for Congress eventually ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact, a 12-nation consortium that includes G-7 partners Japan and Canada. The other G-7 nations – Britain, France, Germany, and Italy – have a stake in a U.S.-European Union trade deal that is on a slower course.

Richard Fontaine, president of the Center for New American Security, said that a failure to grant Obama the negotiating authority could affect his trade agenda. Fontaine said other nations probably would view U.S. lawmakers’ decisions as “a proxy for American engagement in the world.”

While the Senate already has sided with Obama, the House is another matter. Just 18 Democrats have expressed support publicly, and that is short of what the White House is believed to need in order to supplement affirmative GOP votes.