Issues raised in Letters to the Editor of the NYT and the WSJ on the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Pact (TPP)

02/27/2014

The issues raised cover worker protections, and also include some that are not frequently mentioned. Including the right granted to large corporations in TPP to sue the U.S. and other governments on issues where the governments have acted in the public interest as it relates to the environment, health, safeguards related to poor industry practices. A letter to WSJ says president Obama is doing this to look like a centrist president for his legacy, and not for free trade. Separately Krugman points to the issue of intellectual property rights enforcement that has the potential of making it harder to provide access to modern medicine to people in developing countries, a serious pitfall. Response to criticism by the Obama administration has generally talked about the merits of free trade which are generally accepted, and not the specific provisions, or the context in which most of the gains in free trade have already been made in the seven decades to 2015 and the remaining gains are much smaller coming with some losses. The global economy now benefits more from investments in infrastructure both in developing and advanced economies, which is why China's Infrastructure Investment Bank has received such wide support, including EU countries and India. The Obama administration has failed to make the case for investment in infrastructure to the American public, at a time when large productivity gains can be made here following about 2 decades of neglect. A similiar situation exists in Germany, and is especially true of Latin American countries which have serious infrastructure problems that reduce economic growth.

Grouped Articles

In the Heat of the Pacific Trade Battle

New York Times 05/22/2015

Letters To The Editor, Letters, To, The, Editor

Trade and Trust

New York Times 05/22/2015

Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman

No Big Deal

New York Times 02/27/2014

Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman

No Obama Tears for TPA or the TPP

Wall Street Journal 05/22/2015

Letters To The Editor, Letters, To, The, Editor

Obama Presses Currency Compromise in Trade Pact

Wall Street Journal 05/24/2015

Ian Talley, Ian, Talley

Pelosi Rejects Appeals, Hands Obama a Trade Defeat

Wall Street Journal 06/13/2015

Kristina Peterson And Isaac Stanley Becker, Kristina, Peterson, And, Isaac, Stanley Becker