U.S. President Barack Obama Defends Trans-Pacific Partnership, Suggests China May Join

U.S. President Barack Obama has staunchly defended the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The largest international trade agreement of its kind, the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been heavily criticized. Little is known of the trade agreement and much of that is due to the lack of transparency surrounding the TTP.

Critics claim that the Trans-Pacific Partnership could impact labor relations, national sovereignty, and internet freedom. President Obama defended the TPP from the vocal critics who have blasted the trade agreement as a corporate stranglehold on labor markets.

“The question is, are there a lot more winners than losers, and the answer in this case is yes.”

President Obama continued that, “doesn’t mean that there is not going to be some impact on some sectors of the economy, by definition.”

“We are completely woven into the global economy. We’re the hub to many, to a large extent of the global economy. The question is, how do we construct a set of rules and how do we make sure we’re adapting and using the incredible advantages we have to the best of our ability?”

Grappling with the issue of China, President Obama believes that the Trans-Pacific Partnership would force states like China to develop a greater labor standard.

“They’ve already started putting out feelers about the possibilities of them participating at some point. If we’ve got potentially hundreds of millions of workers who are now subject to international labor standards that weren’t there before, and now when we’re working with them, even if they’re not enforcing those standards 100 percent, we’ve got enough leverage to start raising those standards.”

At the moment, President Obama is lagging far behind previous Presidents in favorability and many believe that one of the main issues of Obama’s term in the Oval office has been transparency.

According to the CNN/ORC poll, George W. Bush is now viewed more favorably than President Obama. The current Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations have seen many Democrats such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren publicly criticize President Barack Obama, who continues to back the agreement.

Recently, Julian Assange has denounced that the TPP favors corporations too much and could disrupt progress made in national sovereignty and labor laws. WikiLeaks released five of the 29 chapters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

[Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images]