In order to analyze social and economic sides of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, it is important to review details on this new free trade agreement (FTA). First of all, according Encyclopædia Britannica, free trade is “a policy by which a government does not discriminate against imports or interfere with exports by applying tariffs (to imports) or subsidies (to exports)” (“Free Trade” 1). The idea of free trade first appeared in 1776, when Adam Smith, an economist, claimed the benefit of free trade in his book called The Wealth of Nations (Irwin 1). During the Great Depression, most of the nations went into the protectionism, which is the trade policy to place high tariffs on export to enhance the domestic industries. In order to override
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United States Trade Representative (USTR) led by Michael Froman under the Obama Administration has been negotiating for TPP with the 11 signatory countries (Nakamura, DeBonis 1). TPP has been one of the top priorities for the Obama Administration, and the Administration is trying to push the TPP toward approval by the Congress by the end of the Presidential term (Nakamura, DeBonis 1). However, many Congressmen, Congresswomen and advocacy groups see it unrealistic that the TPP will be approved during the Obama Administration. Tom Donohue, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Bruce Josten, a top lobbyist for the Commerce, stated that the effort by the Republican’s leaders to pass TPP-related bills with regular process will not be successful, as many of the Congressmen will start to get longer breaks for the presidential nominating conventions (Needham 1). Furthermore, advocacy for TPP enforcement fears that lawmakers who are in support of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a legislation process that enables the Administration to submit trade-related bills and reviewed in relatively shorter amount of time, might vote against TPP, so TPP will be reviewed more carefully (Needham
United States Trade Representative (USTR) led by Michael Froman under the Obama Administration has been negotiating for TPP with the 11 signatory countries (Nakamura, DeBonis 1). TPP has been one of the top priorities for the Obama Administration, and the Administration is trying to push the TPP toward approval by the Congress by the end of the Presidential term (Nakamura, DeBonis 1). However, many Congressmen, Congresswomen and advocacy groups see it unrealistic that the TPP will be approved during the Obama Administration. Tom Donohue, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Bruce Josten, a top lobbyist for the Commerce, stated that the effort by the Republican’s leaders to pass TPP-related bills with regular process will not be successful, as many of the Congressmen will start to get longer breaks for the presidential nominating conventions (Needham 1). Furthermore, advocacy for TPP enforcement fears that lawmakers who are in support of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), a legislation process that enables the Administration to submit trade-related bills and reviewed in relatively shorter amount of time, might vote against TPP, so TPP will be reviewed more carefully (Needham