Barack Obama

President Obama is seeking to obtain "fast-track authority" from Congress that will allow him to push forward the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

(Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press)

By Bill Pascrell Jr. and Charles Wowkanech

Congress is in the midst of considering whether to grant President Obama permission to push ahead the largest trade deal in history - involving nearly 40 percent of the world economy, spanning the globe from Japan to Chile. Although the details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, may not be familiar to most Americans, its potential impact could be felt by millions.

The House of Representatives will vote as soon as Friday to allow President Obama the power to "fast track" the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a 12-country deal that, as drafted, would hurt American workers by continuing the trend of offshoring jobs and driving down wages. If President Obama gains fast-track authority, Congressional review of the TPP would be limited to an up-or-down vote on a deal already negotiated. That means amendments offered by Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. to protect U.S. workers' jobs, enforce American safety standards on imported foods and preserve "Buy American" requirements will continue to fall on deaf ears.

The bedrocks of the U.S. economy are living wages, worker protections, environmental safeguards and corporations paying their fair share. But some countries with which we trade exploit their workers, ignore environmental consequences and manipulate their currency to gain an unfair advantage in the global marketplace. Being undercut by foreign trading "partners" costs American jobs and erodes American families and communities. This very sentiment was expressed by labor leaders from across the region as they stood united with us at a recent rally in Clifton in opposition to this misguided legislation.

Unfortunately, we've seen it happen before. Prior fast-track authorization brought us deals like 1994's North American Free Trade Agreement, and the U.S. has been bleeding manufacturing jobs ever since. NAFTA also spiked our trade imbalance with Mexico and Canada to record levels, meaning we buy tens of millions of dollars more worth of their products than we sell of ours. The service-sector jobs that replaced those lost manufacturing jobs have been low-paying and are not family-sustaining. The 2.7 million workers displaced by our trade deficit with China lost $13,505 per worker in wages in 2011 alone, according to Washington's Economic Policy Institute.

In Paterson, the birthplace of America's industrial revolution and a textile manufacturing hub once known as Silk City, trade globalization sent countless factories overseas, where production was much cheaper and fair labor practices were practically non-existent. This is a major factor in our lopsided trade relationships: New Jersey's trade deficit with China, its leading trade "partner," jumped to $16.7 billion in 2014, U.S. Census Bureau figures show. Overall, studies show New Jersey has lost more than 90,000 jobs since 2001 due to its trade deficit with China, which is largely attributed to China's manipulation of its currency. One doesn't have to drive far to see the results up close: Once-thriving neighborhoods decimated by closed factories and pocked by foreclosed homes.

Moreover, these international agreements often include costly corporate profit protections that allow multinational companies to sue the United States whenever their profits are threatened. For example, a Canadian methanol producer filed suit for nearly $1 billion after NAFTA when the state of California decided to phase out the gasoline additive MTBE, which contains methanol. This is why it is so important that Congress does not forfeit its responsibility to oversee global trade agreements that impact the economy and affect working families.

While our primary concern is fast-track authority's negative effects on American families and communities, our reservations aren't limited to the disconcerting consequences here at home. In Vietnam, workers earn less than 60 cents per hour. Malaysia has been complicit in human trafficking. Last year's World Trade Organization trade deal contained no labor or environmental standards at all. Other fast-track deals have included Colombia, where nearly 3,000 labor leaders and activists have been killed since 1986.

Rather than support flawed legislation through fast-track authority, which so often lead to inequitable trade deals, Congress owes it to working families to champion their interests in any global trade deal. With so many American jobs on the line, we need trade policies that grow the middle class, place workers' rights ahead of investors' rights and address record trade deficits. Fast-track authority (and the underlying Trans-Pacific Partnership) accomplishes none of those objectives. Fast-track authority instead gives the public no say over trade deals, and no opportunity to stop bad ones. The American worker deserves a fair shake. We're here to make sure that our nation enacts trade deals that respect and preserve America's great workforce.

Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. is a Democrat who represents New Jersey's 9th Congressional District and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees trade. Charles Wowkanech is president of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, which represents one million workers and their families.

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