Not content with the job losses our numerous free trade agreements have already created, our government is in now the midst of negotiating what could be the largest free trade pact to date. The Trans-Pacific Partnership would be a trade agreement between the United States and Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, New Zealand, Australia, Peru and Chile. There is also the possibility that Japan will sign onto the agreement, dealing even more damage to our woeful economy
The Trans-Pacific agreement would expose vulnerable U.S. industries to even more countries where multinational corporations can exploit cheap labor. For example, the per capita income in Vietnam was only $1,068 in 2010, according to the U.S. State Department. This compares with a per capita income of $40,584 for the United States in the same year.
Not only do many of the nations involved have low wages, but labor standards in many of the countries are far below the hard-won conditions that exist in the United States. By opening trade with these countries, we would be participating either in the mass exodus of jobs to these countries, or a race to the bottom in both wages and standards here in this country.
This agreement would not only serve those countries involved in the current negotiations, but it would also serve as a “docking agreement” for other countries to sign onto in the future. This could include countries such as India, Taiwan and China. By offering concessions in an agreement such as this, it makes it more likely that future countries could sign on with terms that are unfavorable to the United States.
The United States has enough problems maintaining a strong employment situation under its current trade agreements. Once agreements with Panama, South Korea and Colombia are enacted they will further damage the jobs situation in this country, and if the Trans-Pacific agreement were to come to fruition, the plight of the American worker could be damaged even further yet.
Source: http://economyincrisis.org/
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