TPP Could Actually Make Working Conditions Worse in Vietnam
It’s been a long journey out of the aftermath of civil war for
Vietnam, transforming from the object of American invasion into a
bastion of American neoliberalism.
So when President Obama toured Nike’s headquarters in Oregon and
heralded the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a boon for US jobs, that translated in Vietnam as a bonanza for low-wage factory workers, who currently make up a third of the brand’s global manufacturing workforce.
The mega trade pact is alleged to help equalize these trading
“partners,” supposedly bringing Vietnamese labor protections in line
with international standards. Trade ministers insist that such deals
commit signatory countries to enhancing labor, environmental, and social
regulations. But actually, the reason businesses tend to relish
free-trade agreements, and unions loathe them, is precisely that trade
liberalization allows multinational brands to exploit the absence of
those labor protections in poorer countries.
While US unions have denounced the pending trade deal as a pathway to more offshoring of jobs, the bigger labor crisis lies in the kind of jobs that end up on those far-flung shores.
Now that trade liberalization has devastated American manufacturing,
the anticipated effect of the TPP on US workers is vastly dwarfed by the
influx of “opportunities” for Vietnamese workers, who vie with their
relatively better off Chinese counterparts for contracts with Western
companies. That typically means “competing” downward on safety
protections and job security—as evidenced by the massive strike at Yue Yuen shoe factory
earlier this year, which was sparked in part by fears of seeing their
jobs drift to even cheaper southern neighbors (sound familiar?).
Laborers work at the Singlun Star garment factory outside Hanoi, Vietnam. (Reuters/Kham)
