What to Look for in the TPP Agreement

I didn’t want to let this go by without remarking on it. The details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement have finally been revealed:

The long-awaited text of a landmark U.S.-backed Pacific trade deal was released on Thursday, revealing the details of a pact aimed at freeing up commerce in 40 percent of the world’s economy.

If ratified, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be a legacy-defining achievement for U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration’s pivot to Asia, aimed at countering China’s rising economic and political influence.

China has responded with its own Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed 16-nation free-trade area including India that would be the world’s biggest such bloc, encompassing 3.4 billion people.

The TPP, which will set common standards on issues ranging from workers’ rights to intellectual property protection in 12 Pacific nations, was kept largely from public scrutiny during negotiations, angering transparency advocates concerned over its broad implications.

The text is here, courtesy of the government of New Zealand.

I haven’t read it yet and I don’t know that I’m stalwart enough to do so. Like most other people I may end up relying on other people’s reports and analyses. I would, however, like to propose a few guidelines for considering the agreement:

1. The provisions of the agreement.
2. The provisions that are enforceable.
3. The provisions that are actually deliverable.
4. Who wins and who loses.
5. Provisions that are poisoned pills for one Congressional caucus or another.

And for goodness sake don’t call it a “free trade agreement”. It’s a trade agreement. Free trade has little to do with it.