Skip to footer

Details of controversial Pacific trade deal: What you need to know

Thursday's release of the details of the intensely negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership is likely to bring about more discussion on the trade deal. Here's a breakdown of the agreement's key takeaways.

|
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D) of Connecticut (c.), joined at left by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D) of Texas, a bloodhound named Roxy, Rep. David Cicilline (D) of Rhode Island (r.) and other members of Congress, speaks a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 29, about the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
  • By Michael D. Regan Staff

Details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal were released Thursday, potentially setting off another round of debate on the controversial agreement involving one dozen nations.

Labor unions and environmentalists have criticized the 12-country agreement, citing worries it would cut protections for and add competition to already-stagnating wages and hand more power to multinational corporations.

Many in Congress have expressed concerns the pact would further hamper US job prospects just as the country is climbing out of a years-long recession.

President Obama has been a staunch supporter of the TPP, but he faces stiff opposition, even from members of his Democratic Party.

Congressional challenges may only go so far, however, as members may not suggest amendments and are limited to only a yes or no vote.

A major stipulation of the TPP agreement requires two other member countries to overhaul human rights and labor practices. The deal compels Vietnam to open up to labor unions while Malaysia must bolster its efforts to ebb the glut of human trafficking in the country.

A final deal was reached among the 12 nations on Oct. 5, the extensive details of which were released online Thursday.

Here are some key takeaways from the newly released text:

  • The 12 nations in the TPP are the United States, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Peru, Canada, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
  • The Obama administration says the pact would eliminate 18,000 taxes other countries impose on US exports.
  • The deal would grant multinational corporations the right to challenge laws and regulations in secret tribunals when they are considered trade barriers. Countries can ban tobacco companies from taking part in these tribunals.
  • The agreement’s language was influenced by multinational companies including pharmaceutical firms, recording studios, agribusinesses, and others. Critics say the deal was forged in secrecy.
  • The pact calls for improved freedoms and more attention to the needs of indigenous people and overall public health, better access to medicine for people living in the TPP countries and increased protections for drug patents.
  • Malaysia, whose Prime Minister Najib Razak is accused of stealing nearly $700 million from a development fund, would be required to allow freedom of movement for victims of human trafficking and negate rules restricting labor unions.
  • With the threat of trade sanctions, TPP countries are required to ban child labor and employment discrimination and give workers the right to form unions. 
  • New markets would open for Vietnamese clothing firms and Malaysian electronics companies.

This report contains material from The Associated Press and Reuters.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Details of controversial Pacific trade deal: What you need to know
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/1105/Details-of-controversial-Pacific-trade-deal-What-you-need-to-know
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe