Dozens of labor, environmental and consumer groups are urging Congress to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-nation trade deal that President Barack Obama hopes will be a signature achievement of his administration. Meanwhile, business groups and major trade associations are lining up to support it.
Here, we highlight some of the biggest talking points from both sides - and whether they match up with projections from economists and evidence from previous trade agreements.
For economic projections, we relied primarily on recent analyses by The World Bank, The Peterson Institute of International Economics and Tufts University.
Here we go:
1. Argument: TPP will lead to job losses and lower wages in the United States.
Facts: Two major studies found that wages will rise slightly overall, but acknowledged the possibility of job losses and wage cuts for some U.S. workers.
The World Bank and Peterson Institute both concluded that TPP will raise U.S. wages slightly by 2030 - about 0.6 percent for skilled workers and 0.4 percent for unskilled workers. The Tufts University study disagrees, finding that TPP would decrease median U.S. wages "making the vast majority of workers worse off."
The Peterson Institute found that TPP will not change employment levels overall, but could force 53,700 U.S. workers annually to find new jobs. However, displaced workers could face significant periods of unemployment and wage cuts, the study said.
The Tufts study is more pessimistic, estimating that TPP will lead to 771,000 lost jobs across all countries, with the majority - 450,000 - lost in the U.S. by 2025.
2. Argument: TPP will benefit the economy and U.S. manufacturers, and help create jobs.
Facts: TPP will increase annual U.S. exports by $357 billion, or 9.1 percent of exports, by 2030, according to the Peterson Institute. It will increase annual real incomes in the U.S. by $131 billion, or 0.5 percent of GDP.
By 2030, about 796,000 export jobs (those directly supported by exports) will be added, drawing workers from other firms.
However, TPP would slow growth in manufacturing employment by one-fifth and lead to 121,000 fewer jobs in manufacturing by 2030. That means increases in employment in the service and primary goods sectors, the study said.
3. Argument: TPP will lead to more companies challenging environmental regulations in the arbitration process.
Facts: TPP includes what is called the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision, a flashpoint of controversy for liberals, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D).
The language allows corporations to sue foreign governments over environmental or public health regulations if they feel those regulations are hurting their profits. The cases go before private arbitration panels rather than the courts. The system's proponents say ISDS is a way to protect foreign investors from unfair treatment by foreign governments; its critics say it favors companies and makes it difficult to enforce regulations.
READ: Key facts about the TPP trade deal
There has been an explosion of such cases since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. That year, two such arbitrations were initiated, and the number has grown - reaching a record 70 in 2015, according to the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.
And the rulings weren't necessarily favorable to governments: More than $400 million has been paid out to corporations in ISDS cases under NAFTA-style deals, according to Public Citizen, which opposes TPP.
4. Argument: TPP will lead to an increase in harmful environmental pollutants, as manufacturing operations move to countries with lax standards.
Facts: A 2000 study by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) - an intergovernmental organization formed by the United States, Canada and Mexico to address NAFTA environmental issues - found that air pollution generated by NAFTA truck transportation, the dominant mode for delivering NAFTA-associated goods, created "environmental stress" and "environmental pressures as measured by its impact on air quality," particularly at the U.S.-Canada border.
However, TPP includes more comprehensive and enforceable environmental rules than previous trade agreements, the Peterson Institute said.
5. TPP will cause the price of prescription drugs to go up.
Facts: TPP provides intellectual property protection for drugs for up to eight years. That means cheaper, generic versions would not be available until after that - seniors and doctors say the deal will lead to higher prices, particularly in poorer TPP countries. This is a topic many researchers have studied, with results varying by country.
Extending protection for drugs could cost Australian taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars each year, according to a 2014 report to Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
After Canada and Japan extended the protection period, overall spending on drugs as a percentage of GDP went up slightly but not dramatically, according to 2015 research by the Geneva Network.
At U.S. International Trade Commission hearings in January, the Peruvian ambassador to the U.S. testified that since a trade agreement with the U.S. in 2009, the price of medicines in Peru has actually risen more slowly than the rate of inflation from 2009 to 2014.
That has not been the case in other trade deals. Since the U.S.-Jordan pact in 2001, there was a 20 percent increase in drug prices between 2002 and 2006, according to a 2009 report in the Journal of Generic Medicines.
The Washington Post
Fri Feb 19 2016
TPPA is projected to yield higher overall GDP growth for the countries with the expansion of markets and removal or reduction of trade barriers.
Penstrukturan Akaun KWSP: Seimbangkan disiplin, fleksibiliti dalam pengurusan kewangan
Semua caruman selepas tarikh berkenaan akan diperuntukkan ke dalam akaun baharu mengikut pecahan iaitu sebanyak 75 peratus ke dalam Akaun Persaraan, 15 peratus Akaun Sejahtera dan 10 peratus Akaun Fleksibel. Bagaiman akaun yang distruktur kepada tiga akaun mampu membawa pengurusan kewangan yang lebih cekap?
Rumah Terbuka Selangor Sabtu ini
Majlis akan dimeriahkan dengan pelbagai aktiviti, juadah menarik serta persembahan daripada penyanyi terkenal tanah air.
Kerentanan Android TV menyebabkan akaun Gmail boleh dirampas
Sebuah kerentanan yang agak serius wujud membolehkan sesiapa sahaja mengakses akaun Gmail yang di log masuk ke TV.
Ipoh White Coffee disenarai ke-10 kopi terbaik dunia
Ipoh White Coffee menduduki tempat ke-10 dalam senarai 39 kopi terbaik di dunia yang diterbitkan laman web TasteAtlas pada 15 Mac lalu.
Tesla tawar potongan harga sehingga RM8,000
Tesla Model Y yang dijual bermula 20 Julai 2023 pada harga asal RM199,000 kini dijual pada harga RM191,000.
Lelaki parah kereta terbabas langgar pokok
Mangsa mengalami kecederaan parah di bahagian dada dan muka.
Prestasi mingguan FBM KLCI dan unjuran minggu depan
#NiagaAWANI bersama Ketua Strategi MIDF Research, Syed Muhammad Kifni Syed Kamaruddin bagi membincangkan mengenai prestasi mingguan FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI).
Kad Laporan MITI: Mudah cara pelaburan, fasilitasi perdagangan & pacu industri
Pengarah Institut Kajian Malaysia & Antarabangsa, UKM, Prof Dr Sufian Jusoh mengulas berkenaan kad laporan MITI yang memberi fokus kepada memudah cara pelaburan, fasilitasi perdagangan & memacu industri.
Harta intelek: Ada kesedaran tapi masih ada yang suka curi dan ciplak
Senario menciplak yang masih berleluasa berpunca daripada sikap masyarakat yang menyokong barangan ciplak.
AWANI Pagi: Tembusi Gerbang TVET Premier Negara dengan GMI
Diskusi bersama Ahmad Solihin Mohamed Yusoff, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif (CEO) German-Malaysian Institute (GMI) dan dua alumni GMI, Muhammad Ashraff Mohamed Haniffah dan Raja Nur Athirah Raja Sharul Zaman, mengenai potensi pembelajaran dan kerjaya dalam TVET ditawarkan di GMI.
#AWANInews #AWANIPagi
#AWANInews #AWANIPagi
Kematian tukang masak peribadi Barack Obama diisytihar satu kemalangan
Punca kematian diisytiharkan sebagai kes lemas dan cara kematian disahkan sebagai satu kemalangan.
Tukang masak peribadi Barack Obama ditemukan lemas
Mendiang Campbell meninggalkan seorang isteri, Sherise dan sepasang anak kembar.
Kes 1MDB: Jho Low rancang derma RM132 juta kempen Obama 2012
DiCaprio memberitahu juri bahawa Jho Low merancang untuk menderma sekitar AS$30 juta bagi membantu kempen pemilihan semula Barack Obama.
Naib Presiden AS Kamala Harris mulakan lawatan seminggu ke Afrika
Kamala Harris memulakan lawatan seminggu ke Afrika bermula hujung minggu ini.
Pemimpin, selebriti dan peminat bola sepak dunia ratapi pemergian Pele
Pele meninggal dunia pada usia 82 tahun selepas bertarung dengan kanser kolon.
Obama, Michelle kembali ke White House untuk lancar potret rasmi
Bekas Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS) Barack Obama dan isteri Michelle Obama kembali ke Rumah Putih untuk melancarkan potret rasmi mereka.
Obama umum positif COVID-19
Beliau dalam pada itu turut memaklumkan isterinya Bekas Wanita Pertama Michelle negatif jangkitan itu setakat ini.
Pertembungan generasi tua dan muda sebenarnya cetuskan cabaran berbahaya - Obama
Masih ramai golongan berusia yang berada di takuk lama termasuk cara kepimpinan dan pemikiran
Sisi luka perang di Afghanistan tinggalan Amerika
Sorotan kesan misi hampir dua dekad tentera Amerika Syarikat di Afghanistan ke atas generasi kanak-kanak, yang paling terdera disebabkan perang. Nasib mereka terus tidak menentu di tangan Taliban
Ekonomi dunia: China tidak akan lepasi AS sebagai pemimpin global - Biden
Biden berjanji akan membuat pelaburan besar bagi memastikan negara Uncle Sam itu menang dalam persaingan membabitkan dua gergasi ekonomi dunia itu.