President Barack Obama took to eBay to convince small business owners and those that use the platform of his proposed Pacific trade pact.
Obama argued that the pact would help small business owners in general, and would impact Internet vendors in particular.
According to the letter, sent out to over 600,000 users, the agreement "levels the playing field for you and your employees, bringing down trade barriers like high taxes and red tape, while preserving free and open digital data flows between you and your customers in the Asia-Pacific."
The letter represents a renewed effort by Obama to sell his argument for the agreement to both policymakers and the general public. Major business lobbying groups, such as the Business Roundtable and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have backed the agreement.
The agreement itself would include 12 nations, and was completed earlier in the year, now needing to be ratified by Congress. Many Democrats, however, oppose the agreement, saying that it lowers environmental and labor standard and costs American jobs. In fact, both major Democratic presidential candidates, Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, oppose the agreement.
Republicans, however, have been a little more supportive of the agreement. Obama himself points to areas in the agreement that govern data sharing and help ensure that the Internet stays open. He also mentioned a section that includes small businesses, and helps reduce the regulation that small businesses face when doing business on a global scale.
According to eBay, 90 percent of small businesses on the site export products, and a third of the exports are sent to customers in Pacific Rim countries that are involved in the agreement.
