Congressman Sherman Opposes TPP Agreement

Washington DC – Following news of an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA) a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and former chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade, released the following statement:

“If our previous free trade deals are any indication of what we can expect from the TPP, American workers are in serious trouble.

“I opposed NAFTA, CAFTA, KORUS, MFN for China, and a host of other trade deals we have adopted over the last two decades.  These trade deals were sold on the premise that they would expand U.S. job growth and boost American exports; instead we’ve seen massive trade deficits and enormous job losses.

“Now we are confronted with TPP - a partnership between the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, and one of the largest so-called ‘free trade’ agreements ever negotiated.

“I was one of the first to oppose the ‘fast track’ negotiating authority which allowed the administration to expedite TPP, and deny Congress adequate review time or the ability to make changes to the deal. Worse yet, whoever is elected to be the next president will have the same authority until 2021 to negotiate bad trade policies.

“Many aspects of the deal concern me, including the risk of major job loss in America, an expanding U.S. trade deficit, as well as serious challenges to Buy American provisions, food safety, environmental protection, and intellectual property rights. 

“This deal will not require major changes from countries that have poor labor records and commit major human rights abuses, particularly Vietnam.  Further, currency manipulation, a major contributor to the global U.S. trade deficit, is not adequately addressed by the TPP agreement.

“In particular, I am deeply concerned about the effect TPP may have on our trade balances with Japan, China and Vietnam.

“Some have falsely argued that TPP would help contain China’s growing economic influence and power in the Pacific Rim.  In reality, this agreement would expand Chinese exports to the United States. Goods made mostly in China and finished in another Asian country would have duty-free access to the U.S. market.  It would actually further encourage multinationals to move production to China.

“We must abandon the failed, so-called ‘free trade’ policies of the past and take a new direction.  We need a trade policy that creates and keeps good paying jobs here for American working families.  We need balanced trade.”

“Once the President submits the TPP agreement, Congress will have to review it. I will do everything in my power to encourage my colleagues to support American workers and reject the TPP.”

-30-