On May 3, 2012, 69 members of Congress wrote President Obama to voice concerns about reports of the potential weakening of Buy American procurement policies in ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations.

The United States is one of nine countries currently involved in TPP negotiations, along with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Other countries, including Canada, Japan, and Mexico, have been rumored as potential candidates for joining the TPP, but the addition of new members also has been widely seen as a factor that would complicate the completion of any agreement by the end of 2012.