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"We believe that the votes are there to move forward,"
Catherine Novelli, U.S. under secretary of state for economic
growth, energy and the environment, told reporters in Singapore.
"We do expect it to be passed soon, within the next month or
so."
The TPA legislation allows U.S. lawmakers to set objectives for
trade deals in exchange for a yes-or-no vote.
Delays in finalising the legislation are casting a cloud over a
12-nation trade pact many thought was near completion, officials
close to the negotiations told Reuters last month.
Novelli said she expects negotiations for the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) deal to be concluded in a relatively short
time.
TPP would link a dozen Asia-Pacific economies by eliminating
trade barriers and harmonising regulations in a pact covering
two-fifths of the world economy and a third of all global trade.
Novelli said the United States does not oppose the China-led
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and understands the
need to build infrastructure in Asia.
"There is plenty of room for everybody to participate in Asia.
It is a huge economic space," she said.
China in recent weeks has convinced several U.S. allies in
Europe to become founding members of the Asian Infrastructure
Investment Bank, a sign of Beijing's rising stature.
(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
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