TPP: Another Bad Trade Deal

USW International President Leo W. Gerard this week joined hosts Neal Tepel and Bill Hohlfeld on the radio program Blue Collar Buzz to discuss the disastrous effects of so-called free trade agreements.

Multi-national corporations advocate for trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) because it allows them to circumvent labor and environmental regulations, Gerard said. They’re able to pit workers against each other in a race to the bottom, while largely avoiding oversight.

“There is no such thing as free trade,” said Gerard. “All trade is regulated. And the question is, on whose behalf are the regulations? And the regulations currently in various trade agreements including the TPP are designed to help the financial community.

“In fact, I would go so far as to say that they’re not trade agreements, they’re investment agreements where multi-national corporations can go in and invest in any country they want with the least interference and regulation.”

The only way to protect workers’ rights against these sorts of deals is to elect labor-friendly candidates who are willing to stand up to big corporations.

 “We need to make sure that we not only don’t elect Trump,” said Gerard, “but we elect more progressives to the Senate, more progressives to the House, more progressives down the ballot.”