Normally, comments at the New York Times reflect the education and knowledge of its readers. One comment after another thinks TPP is a trade deal with China.
The countries President Obama will be playing golf at are:
Australia,
New Zealand,
Canada,
Mexico,
Chile,
Peru,
Japan,
Malaysia,
Singapore,
Brunei Darussalam, (a small portion of Borneo)
and Vietnam
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/
2014 Trade +surplus / -deficit with TPP countries in $Billions
Australia +15.9
New Zealand +0.3
Canada -35.4
Mexico -53.8
Chile +7.0
Peru +4.0
Japan -67.1
Malaysia -17.4
Singapore +13.8
Brunei +0.5
and Vietnam -24.9
For comparison, China was -343.1
TPA – trade promotion authority. I see it as some additional process to negotiate with other nations. The negotiation might be trade related, it might not. We might be seeing the chink in the armor that allows Obama to seal the deal with Iran without ever consulting Congress. Art is correct – there is nothing about China in there. What we talk to China about is Global Warming and Human Rights all the while being in denial about the hacking of 18 million or so personnel records.