Proponents point out the positive aspects of the deals eliminating many taxes. They say that this will make it easier for American entrepreneurs, small business owners and farmers to sell their goods abroad, making their business a lot more lucrative.
Also, when tariffs are cut down to a minimum, prices for many goods will decrease, taking the load off many Americans struggling with everyday expenses. But this will not help those who lost their jobs or get paid less due to the economic changes caused by the trade deals.
General Roberto Azevà ªdo, World Trade Organization Director, said at the National Press Club October 7: "I believe that trade is imperfect and it can have negative effects in some parts of the economy and those effects can have a big impact on some people's lives. My argument today is that we must correct those problems and we must work harder to spread the benefits of trade further and wider." He stated the obvious but at the same time glossed over the elephant in the room by not stating how we should respond to these imperfections. He downplayed Hillary Clinton's, Donald Trump's and Bernie Sander's arguments against trade deals and totally missed the point that the U.S. loses low and middle paying jobs to $2 hourly rate jobs in other countries by how the trade deals have been negotiated to this point.
Mayor Kasim Reed of Atlanta said at the White House press briefing on September 16, 2016, referring to TPP: "If we want to make sure that the United States continues to lead and continues to set the rules of the road with 40 percent of the global GDP, we need to get this deal done."
But for what price do we need to get this deal done? Truth is, we do not really know. Even experts are not at one with each other. But what we do know for sure is that with the secretiveness of the issue voters cannot decide who is right or wrong and why. If America has "lost millions of jobs" as Trump contends because of them, perhaps that explains why we are no longer at full employment, meaning no longer with 3% unemployment as past decades but now consider 5% as a good "bar". Or perhaps Obama is right that the deals have raised our profits and incomes. It's time for the criteria to be clear.
Robert Weiner is a former spokesman for the Clinton White House. Thekla Truebenbach is policy analyst at Robert Weiner Associates and Solutions for Change.
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