Obama says Pacific trade pact will boost U.S. economy

President Barack Obama announced the public release of the full text of the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership on Thursday.

“Now that we can read the final TPP text, it’s obvious why it was kept in total secrecy for so long: this agreement is a wish list for powerful special interests and multinational corporations”, said Evan Greer, campaign director of Fight for the Future.

In June, Congress voted to give President Obama fast-track trade promotion authority (TPA) to negotiate trade deals, including the TPP. “Farm exports provide jobs in rural areas, of course, but also lead to jobs at warehouses, ports, trucking companies and other urban businesses that move farm goods to customers around the world”.

Democratic Representative Rosa De Lauro has been one of the leading members of the president’s own party organizing opposition to the TPP.

Now with the 6,000 pages of TPP text laid bare we can finally see for ourselves whether it truly is a “transformational document”, an ambitious agreement, a missed opportunity or a comprehensive sell-out.

The Nikkei Shimbun financial daily said Friday multiple countries will relax visa requirements to let workers and their families relocate more easily.

The deal will take effect within 60 days of all countries finishing necessary implementation work, or once six countries accounting for 85 percent of the bloc’s economic output have ratified the agreement, if not all are ready after two years.

It includes participation from the US, along with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

“The TPP forms a transformational series of agreements that will contribute substantially to the diversification of our economy”. U.S. Trade Rep. Michael Froman says it was critical for the United States, not China, to write “the rules of the road for trade in the Asia-Pacific region …”

The White House was expected to formally notify Congress later in the day that Obama intends to sign the 12-nation free trade agreement, a move that kicks off a 90-day waiting period, after which he can sign it and seek ratification from Congress.

Activists bashed it for having few teeth to enforce labor rights and environmental protections, while giving drug companies patent protections that would deny poor people access to vital drugs.

The New Zealand government claims the TPP would boost the New Zealand economy by least 2.7 billion NZ dollars (1.78 billion US dollars) a year by 2030.

China’s trade minister said last month the country did not feel targeted by the TPP, but would evaluate the likely impact comprehensively.

Congressional challenges may only go so far, however, as members may not suggest amendments and are limited to only a yes or no vote. The complex pact was not like a bilateral trade deal, Froman said.