TEAMSTER.ORG | A federal trade agency tasked with reporting on the economic benefits of proposed trade deals came up empty last month when it reviewed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
While the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has regularly served as a big booster of past trade agreements even when they didn’t warrant them, its evaluation of the 12-nation Pacific Rim deal was different. There was only so much lipstick USITC could put on this pig of a pact.
Instead of improving the nation’s trade deficit, the agency report predicted the opposite. That would lead to nearly 130,000 lost jobs. And it predicted losses in 16 of 25 U.S. economic sectors, making it clear that if the TPP ever gets through Congress, it will be a disaster for many in the workforce. In total, the document estimates only 0.15 percent growth in the nation’s GDP over the next 15 years.
That’s just not going to get it done.