MetLife CEO Steven Kandarian has backed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and urged the US Congress to ratify the free trade agreement.

“As one of the largest life insurers in the world, with operations in nearly 50 countries, MetLife has four key priorities in assessing any trade deal: improved market access, a level competitive playing field, ease of cross-border data flows and regulatory transparency,” he said.

“The TPP makes meaningful progress on all of them. We are confident that ratification of the TPP will lead to faster economic growth, greater choice and lower costs for consumers.”

MetLife has operations in eight of the 12 Pacific Rim countries represented under the TPP: Australia, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Vietnam, Singapore and the US.

“The agreement is not perfect – no trade deal is – but on balance the TPP represents a significant step in the right direction and deserves to be ratified,” Mr Kandarian said.