Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement could lead to fewer U.S. jobs

The Morning Call published the recent story about Lehigh Valley businesses hiring at faster pace. This is good news but gains could be lost with the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement. The Trans-Pacific Partnership dwarfs the North American Free Trade Agreement both geographically and economically and could result in serious job and wage loss in our area.

The proposed pact not only covers traditional trade matters such as tariffs and quotas but also is said to contain some 29 separate chapters affecting everything from food safety standards and banking regulations to energy policy and government purchasing decisions.

Despite having completed 18 major rounds of negotiations on that agreement, the Obama administration has refused to tell the American public what it has been proposing in our name, instead classifying all the draft texts. Now the administration wants Congress to pass new fast-track legislation that would enable the partnership to circumvent ordinary congressional review, amendment and debate procedures.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blacklistednews/hKxa/~3/5QUnlo2QN4g/M.html

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