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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) celebrated his victory on TPP today by promising a very long battle against the controversial trade agreement.

In a statement, Sen. Sanders said:

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The Senate vote today was an important first victory in what will be a long battle.

A major reason for the decline of the American middle class and the increase in wealth and income inequality in the United State is our trade policies – NAFTA, CAFTA and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China. This agreement would follow in the footsteps of those free trade agreements which have forced American workers to compete against desperate and low-wage workers around the world – including workers in Vietnam where the minimum wage is 56-cents an hour.

Trade agreements should not just work for corporate America, Wall Street and the pharmaceutical industry. They have got to benefit the working families of our country.

We must defeat fast track and develop a new policy on trade. Today was a good step forward, but much more needs to be done.

The last thing that Wall Street and the multinational corporations wanted to hear was that this victory has only made the opposition to the TPP stronger. The vote was not a one-off protest vote. The movement against this secret trade agreement is only going to get stronger.

There is one question that supporters of the Trans-Pacific Partnership can’t answer. If this agreement is such a great deal for American workers, why can’t the American people read it?

Bernie Sanders staked out his position as an early opponent of TPP. The provisions on protection for workers and currency manipulation must be included in the final Senate bill. The left is not going to be satisfied with slowing down this bill for a month.

American workers have been burned too many times in the past by trade agreements; the left has dug in and TPP supporters better get ready for what could be a very long fight.