According to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), President Obama met with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which includes the United States, Singapore and 10 other Pacific Rim countries.

The president told Lee at a White House meeting that the administration is pushing Congress to vote on TPP during a “lame duck” session between the Nov. 8 elections and the end of the year. NPPC, which strongly supports the regional trade deal, also is urging congressional lawmakers to consider the agreement, which would increase U.S. pork exports to the Asia-Pacific region significantly, creating more than 10,000 pork industry jobs.

Lee told The Washington Post that if the TPP isn’t implemented – and there is evidence that the deal would fall apart if the United States doesn’t ratify it – it would be “unmitigated bad news” for America, which would lose prestige and leadership in the region and allow China’s influence to grow. The prime minister said the U.S. Congress should approve the TPP.