Stronger Patent Protections Sought In Pacific Rim Trade Pact

President Obama landed in the Philippines on Monday for the last stop on his eight-day tour through Asia.

Much of the trip has focused on a free-trade deal being negotiated by a dozen countries along the Pacific Rim. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would establish standards on everything from intellectual property to labor.

The U.S. has tied its economy so tightly to Pacific nations that a trade deal like this could touch almost every part of American life and, as such, is drawing support — and criticism — from various sectors of the U.S. economy.

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep talked about the U.S. agenda with Ernie Bower from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.