President Obama said Friday that Congress must pass a far-reaching Pacific Rim trade deal this year or face falling behind China on the global stage.

The president argued that delaying action on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) puts the U.S. in jeopardy of losing economic ground to Beijing, which is negotiating a separate trade deal with several of the same Pacific nations.

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“The big challenge for us is who’s going to write the rules that nations play by when it comes to trade and commerce,” Obama said on a conference call set up by Business Forward to rally small businesses for their support of the trade deal.

“Is it going to be the United States or is it going to be our biggest competitor going forward, which is China."

The president said that if the Congress sits back and fails to pass the TPP that the United States will be "ceding the writing of the rules" in the Pacific Rim where growth is expected to boom over the next couple of decades.

If China forges a trade deal it would "carve up some of the fastest growing markets in the world at our expense," the president said.

"And that’s going to ultimately undercut American businesses and American workers."

The president is urging Congress to take up the TPP agreement as soon as possible, even as early as after the completion of the Democratic and Republican primaries.

But there is no momentum in Congress right now to take up the TPP amid strong anti-trade rhetoric from Democratic and Republican contenders on the campaign trail.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate have expressed a desire to pass the deal but have said several changes need to be made on issues such as high-tech pharmaceuticals and tobacco before a vote could happen.

That most likely pushes congressional consideration into a lame-duck session after the November elections at the earliest.

“I know the politics around trade these days in both parties have gotten a little crazy, and I understand it because a lot of times what’s most visible is the plant that closes," Obama said.

While acknowledging that trade deals over the last 20-30 years weren't well-structured to protect American workers against the effects of globalization, Obama said that the TPP is different.

"But that’s not this deal. What this deal does is it raises standards, it makes sure we’re in a better position as American businesses and American farmers and American manufacturers to get into economies that right now are already selling to us but we’re not selling to them, as well."

Obama said that there is a potential for "exponential growth" of U.S. exports into the TPP markets.

In 2014, $726.5 billion worth of goods to TPP countries and if the deal gets done then “that’s just the tip of the iceberg," he said.

“This is why it is critical that Congress get TPP done and we need to get it this year."

He told business owners and leaders that their support would probably hold the most influence in the trade debate on Capitol Hill.

"So we’ve got to get this done and I hope you will raise your voices in your communities, in your organizations, and let everyone who will listen how important expanding trade opportunities are to you," Obama said. "It will make a difference to your bottom line."