A trade deal involving both the United States and China should be considered in the wake of the likely failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, says Labor.
Both US presidential candidates have flagged their opposition to the landmark Pacific-wide trade pact that involves Australia and 11 other nations.
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong told the National Press Club on Tuesday the TPP would fail if the US was not in it.
"If that is the outcome ... I think we do need to think about what are the arrangements in our region that are best and which would enhance economic engagement," she said.
"It is in our interest to engage China in these arrangements and in fact what I would argue is it is in Australia's national interest to have both the United States and China engage in the same trading regime."
