Parsing the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement

[n2doc]

The strange bedfellows of Democratic President Barack Obama and the Republican Congressional Majority Leadership seem hell-bent on writing the White House a blank “fast track authority” check for the largest trade deal in world history – the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. To woo us, their spinmeisters boast the TPP will spur American exports to stimulate sorely needed economic growth.

In truth, the American economy will suffer severely. This is because the TPP will hammer two main drivers of economic growth – domestic investment and “net exports.”

Domestic investment will fall because the TPP will push even more American factories offshore to Asia. Indeed, it is precisely the advantages offered by moving their production offshore that motivates America’s multinationals to lobby for the trade pacts to begin with. Sadly, the Administration has publicly identified increasing offshore investments by U.S. companies as a top TPP goal.
As for net exports, they represent the difference between how much a nation exports to the world and how much it imports. Here, while exports to Asia may indeed rise with the TPP, America will be flooded by even more imports produced by sweat shop labor in factories built with American capital that have little or no environmental protections.

We have seen this movie before. Since the South Korean Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2012, the U.S. trade deficit with South Korea has soared. In fact, shortly after South Korea won the FTA lottery, it erected new barriers to U.S. auto and auto parts exports.

more

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/238473-parsing-the-trans-pacific-partnership-agreement

[pa28]

1. We like to talk about job offshoring but this article points out how much deeper the losses run.

No American investment means also means crumbling roads and underfunded schools.

[Octafish]

2. I'm tired of this movie.

GATT... NAFTA... TPP... SHAFTA...



It's like a franchise or sumpin.

[Populist_Prole]

3. And this is THE ONE THING the GOP is willing to work with the president on

What's that tell you?

All the other stuff you said is true too BTW.

[zeemike]

5. It tells me it is the only thing that really matters to both parties.

Most of the other things are just bullshit by comparison.

[Populist_Prole]

9. Bingo

Making the real divide one of an up/down ( $-wise ) more than left/right.

The plutocrats make out like bandits either way.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

4. This is just like the stuff

I'm reading about in Naomi Klein's 'The Shock Doctrine' It's scary shit................

[Omaha Steve]

6. STOP the fast track and the TPP

Great post.

K&R!

[randome]

7. It's not a blank check. If someone feels strongly about adding something, they simply vote no.

Done and done.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[jwirr]

8. If I were President Obama I would NOT want this to be what people think of him in 15 years.

[Dragonfli]

10. The upside to people thinking this of him in 15 years is several million in speaking fees

The similar work done by Clinton shows it is a very lucrative move for those that follow such a road. What the impoverished think of those that put them in the poor house is not as important as what the billionaires think after being further enriched, at least to the mind of a politician. He will pass it, and sleep like a baby, a soon to be very wealthy baby.

[jwirr]

11. I hope you are wrong. And I was thinking of the historians not the little guy.