Nike supported President Barack Obama in his campaign for a trade deal with Asian countries on Friday. The shoemaker giant promises the creation of up to 10,000 U.S.-based manufacturing jobs if the pact is approved.
During Obama's visit to Nike's Oregon headquarters, the company announced that footwear tariff relief within the proposed 12-nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement would allow it to speed up investment in "advanced footwear manufacturing" in the United States, according to Reuters.
Obama is urging the U.S. Congress to pass the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) - which would allow him to negotiate international trade deals minus the threat of lawmakers' changes.
Nike said that if the TPA is passed and the TPP deal is sealed, it would hasten its U.S. investments - which could result to as many as 10,000 domestic manufacturing and engineering jobs, thousands of construction jobs and up to 40,000 jobs in other support industries.
Nike currently employs 26,000 personnel in the U.S., and more than 1 million workers in 700 contract factories worldwide manufacture its shoes. The company's top-end soccer and baseball shoes sell for more than $300 apiece.
"We believe agreements that encourage free and fair trade allow Nike to do what we do best: innovate, expand our businesses and drive economic growth," Nike CEO Mark Parker said in a statement, according to The New York Times. "Nike has always led the way to product innovation, and now we will be able to accelerate our investments to continue to drive manufacturing innovation."
White House spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters that "the trade deal that the president hopes to sign is one that is not only good for American workers, good for the American economy, but is one that includes the strongest, boldest, human rights protections, labor protections and environmental protections we've seen in a trade deal."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, moved to schedule a vote on the TPA as early as Tuesday - thus setting up a clash with the Democrats who plan to block the bill despite the president's support, according to a report on Financial Times.
