Dear Editor,
The extreme secrecy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations promises another economic disaster for Americans as have so many past trade agreements. These fast-tracked trade pacts, with details kept secret from citizens and legislators until signed, invariably lead to lost jobs and massive trade deficits. The latest troubling example of bad effects from fast-tracked trade deals is Ford’s recently announced plans to build a $2.5 billion engine and transmission plant in Mexico and employ almost 4,000 workers there under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This investment and those jobs should have gone to the U.S. The Economic Policy Institute estimates a net loss of almost half a million jobs and our annual trade deficit with North American trading partners ballooning from $16 billion to $82 billion within just a few years after enacting NAFTA.
The Constitution gives Congress the authority and duty to publicly debate and approve trade agreements. Tell our legislators to finally fulfill their constitutional responsibility by withholding fast track authority from Obama, disclosing TPP contents to all citizens, rather than just a small group of privileged elitists, and voting on it. Only this will ensure that the TPP truly promotes U.S. jobs and our economy.
Felix Revello
Larned