Trans-Pacific Partnership Language Released

The long-awaited text of the TPP agreement was released on November 5.  While negotiators announced their agreement on October 4, the public release was delayed for a month.  TPP is a proposed international trade agreement negotiated among 12 Pacific Rim countries, including the United States.  The goal of the agreement is to eliminate tariffs and commercially-meaningful market access for U.S. products exported to TPP countries, as well as to address non-tariff barriers, including import licensing requirements and other restrictions.

Following release of the language, the President signed a notice of intent to Congress as required under TPA (Trade Promotion Authority) passed last summer.  Now, the President is not permitted to sign the agreement until 90 days following his notice of intent to sign – this pushes the potential signing date back to early February, 2016.  At this point, under the guidelines established by TPA, we expect the earliest Congress can take up TPP for debate will be next April or May. 

We are now working to determine how this massive agreement (over 2000 pages) would affect our membership, and we welcome all comments.