Trading up for a better deal than Trans-Pacific pact
David Levine
As the dust settles on the fight in Congress over Fast Track
authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, we have an
opportunity to think anew about what good trade policy could be. If we
get past the rhetoric, we can expand the public and political dialogue
about trade and truly understand the impact it can have on all our
businesses.
Representing hundreds of thousands of businesses from diverse sectors
and different regions nationwide, we have come to understand first-hand
that trade is an important element of a robust economy. As a business
organization, we opposed Fast Track and the TPP not because we are
against trade, but because we need a better trade deal than TPP offers.
In evaluating the TPP, we identified key principles that can and
should be considered when negotiating a strong and fair trade bill.
One is transparency, a fundamental goal for developing and
implementing any trade agreement. Legislators and the public must have
access to the trade agreement information. From our businesses’
perspective, it is not acceptable that a small number of larger
corporations get to set the agenda while small and medium-sized
enterprises don’t even get a seat at the table. Any trade deals should
go through an open dialogue that includes a diverse group of
stakeholders.
We also need more transparency in the business practices advanced by a
trade deal, so that we know where our products are coming from and what
is in them. Country of Origin rules and disclosure of chemical
ingredients are two examples.
