The tobacco provision is receiving stiff resistance from Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Richard Burr of North Carolina, a tobacco-growing state, and from farm-state lawmakers worried that agricultural interests in their districts could face a similar fate.
 
Mr. Tillis said he would fight the proposal if it becomes part of the final deal. “If the carve-out is in there, I’ll work hard to defeat it,” Mr. Tillis said. The senator said he had spoken to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who was key in driving legislation to help smooth passage of the deal through Congress earlier this year. Mr. Tillis said Mr. McConnell has expressed his concern to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman, “saying that if you go down this path of a carve-out, he’ll be a part of the people who will oppose that.”

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