The debate over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the free-trade pact between the United States and 11 other countries, is about to heat up.
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Additionally the deal aims to prohibit the trade of goods made with forced labor and aims to raise working standards for all nations in the agreement.
Health experts say intellectual property protections in the TPP for ground-breaking medicines known as biologics could drive up their cost and make them less accessible.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman has warned against re-opening the complex deal, as Washington has done with past trade agreements, saying any attempt to fix one section might unravel the whole pact. “And if we don’t pass this agreement – if America doesn’t write those rules – then countries like China will”, Obama said.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) today issued the following statement after the Obama administration notified Congress of its intent to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
There’s no guarantee the pact won’t raise hackles with a few US lawmakers, who have questioned whether it would help USA exports and create jobs or just expose more American workers to low-wage competition. This review process enables Congress to carefully scrutinize the agreement before it is signed, and if necessary, recommend changes to the agreement.
“Let’s look for trade agreements that level the playing field, because when we get to play on a level-playing field American production does very well, whether it’s agriculture, whether it’s manufacturing, we’ve got good opportunities when we have a level-playing field”, according to Smith.
The TPP nations are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
Even if Obama is gung-ho on the deal, prominent fellow Democrats like Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton have strongly opposed the TPP as it now stands.
Asked about the chances of the TPP getting passed in Congress, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was hopeful. Supporters of the deal have argued its ability to open up overseas markets for US companies.
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If all 12 countries have not ratified the agreement within two years, provisions allow for it to take effect if six countries comprising 85 percent of the GDP of the bloc have signed.
