Her heated warnings came minutes after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a key player in the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, concluded his address to both chambers of Congress.

The Democratic senator, in an interview with the Globe , would not specifically address why her views differ from Massachusetts’ flourishing biotech and tech companies, which strongly back the accord. But she stressed concerns about transparency and a provision she fears would allow multinational corporations to skirt American regulations.

WASHINGTON -- Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Wednesday knocked President Obama’s claims about a Pacific trade deal and vowed to continue her public battle with the administration.


“When the president said he wanted to focus on the facts of the deal, I agreed with him,” Warren said. “But that means making the deal public…If it’s a good deal for working families, why can’t it be made public?”

Obama last week accused critics of being “dishonest” and misrepresenting the accord, which would encompass 40 percent of the world’s economy. Officials insist they need to keep negotiations private as they complete a sensitive deal years in the making. Lawmakers may view draft details but are prohibited from publicly discussing them.

“The public will have months to review the agreement before it is even signed and then several more months before any vote is taken,” said Matthew McAlvanah, a spokesman for the United States Trade Representative.

But that won’t address the piece that’s at the heart of Warren’s complaints.

A resolution process, long part of many trade accords, allows companies to challenge foreign governments in front of an international tribunal. If the company wins, the ruling cannot be appealed, and taxpayers could wind up paying for damages.

“This isn’t a partisan issue,” Warren said. “Conservatives are outraged this shifts power from Americans courts to international tribunals. Libertarians are offended it offers a taxpayer subsidy to weaker legal systems, and progressives are opposed to it because it would weaken labor, safety and environmental rules.”


Senators Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, also are drawing attention to the international tribunal provision.

Administration officials contend it does not provide multinational companies any additional rights and note that no foreign business has brought a case against the U.S. and won.

Obama, on a Friday conference call, called notions that the process could undermine American regulations “just bunk.”

The provision is important, he said, because in many places, U.S. businesses are discriminated against and don’t get assistance through that country’s courts. “Part of our goal here is to make sure that there is a neutral process that is legally recognized, so that if an arbitrary burden or tax or tariff is imposed on a U.S. company in these countries, that they have recourse to a fair, impartial venue to resolve it,” he said.

Congressional committee leaders recently reached a deal on “fast track” legislation that the administration believes is critical to sealing the Pacific pact. The bill, which the Senate could take up as early as this week, would allow Congress to vote on a trade deal but deny lawmakers a chance to amend it.

Warren said she hopes to convince her colleagues in the House and Senate not to support anything the American public can’t see and that include the provision.

Without it, she hinted, “it would be a very different deal.”


Jessica Meyers can be reached at jessica.meyers@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicameyers.