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Protestors assemble outside Nike headquarters in Beaverton in May 2015 to oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Obama visited Nike where he made a forceful speech in defense of the trade pact.

(Luke Hammill/Staff)

Oregon opponents to the Trans-Pacific Partnership have done an effective job of painting the sweeping trade agreement as a welcome mat for the Nikes and Intels of the world to run roughshod over the environment, wages and the middle-class. By turning the focus on "multinational corporations" - an easy villain in bike-riding, wine-drinking, local-loving Portland, foes have succeeded in planting doubts about the agreement that liberalizes trade and investment between the United States and 11 other member countries.

The irony is that Portlanders - and Oregonians - would do better to support their local businesses by getting behind the TPP and sending a message to the state's Congressional delegation that it's time to approve the deal.

Certainly, the agreement will benefit behemoth companies that are already doing business in many of the TPP member countries, including Japan, Canada, Australia and Mexico. But the deal, which slashes thousands of tariffs slapped on goods made in the United States, also helps ease the way for small and medium sized businesses to compete for customers in the global market.

Consider what Oregon winemakers like Sokol Blosser face in Japan. The tariff there is 15 percent per bottle. Under the TPP, that would drop by a third and be phased down to 0 in seven years, according to the U.S. State Department.

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Editorial Agenda 2016



Get Oregon centered

Better leadership in education

Make Portland a city that works

Build Oregon prosperity

Protect and expand personal freedom

Get pot right

_______________________________

Or take a look at Chris King Precision Components, which manufactures performance bike parts from its Northwest Portland facility. Vietnam, another of the TPP member countries, slaps tariffs as high as 45 percent on bicycle components exported by the United States. Under the trade agreement, over eight years, that tariff will fall to 0.

Even architectural firms like Portland-based ZGF Architects, known for its commitment to environmentally sustainable design, could benefit. The deal builds in various provisions for professional services firms, including one that prohibits countries from imposing quantitative restrictions on supplying services, such as limiting the number of suppliers or number of transactions, according to the U.S. State Department.

Robert Packard, a partner at ZGF, has met with members of Oregon's Congressional delegation to make the case for approving TPP. While it's unclear whether ZGF will itself see its business change under TPP, he said the firm has supported the deal out of recognition of the outsized role that trade plays, both for the firm's clients and the Oregon economy.

These are the kinds of companies that Oregonians are proud to claim as their own - home-grown, do-it-right entrepreneurs in industries that show off the state's winemaking, bike manufacturing and design expertise. Add in the hazelnut farmers, blueberry producers, wheat growers, seafood processors and you have a far broader picture of what trade-dependent commerce in Oregon looks like.

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The state exports $9.2 billion worth of products to the 11 other TPP member countries, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Jobs in the traded sector pay more as well - in Portland the differential was about 40 percent, according to a 2012 study by ECONorthwest. One in five jobs is tied to trade, Sen. Ron Wyden noted in a speech last year in which he voiced his support for the deal.

But both Sen. Jeff Merkley and Rep. Peter DeFazio oppose the pact. Merkley, in an emailed statement, acknowledges some businesses will benefit, but says the deal overall "will reinforce the trends that have resulted in the loss of good paying manufacturing jobs with a profound impact on middle class families. When done right, on a level playing field, trade can be a powerful tool for global growth and rising living standards, but the TPP falls short."

The thing is, the TPP is a powerful tool for global growth and improving living standards. It builds in environmental and labor protections that are enforceable and effective. President Obama formally signed the deal in February but is working with Congress on the best time - in other words, when he has the votes - to submit a bill for implementing the deal. Once that happens, Congress will have 90 days to either approve or reject the deal.

Unfortunately, as Alex Sokol Blosser, co-president of the Sokol Blosser winery said, the deal is getting crushed under the "political tractor tires of the season." Delay is costing U.S. exporters who would see reductions in tariffs on 18,000 products, William Craft, deputy assistant secretary for trade policy and programs, told The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board. Delay also provides an opening for China, which is not one of the TPP member nations, to form its own alliance that could result in a very different set of standards without the environmental and labor improvements defined in the TPP.

Ultimately, for Oregon, it comes down to this. You don't increase prosperity for your community by shrinking your borders. You don't influence the environmental and labor standards of other countries by sitting on the sidelines. And you don't help local companies by ignoring the potential for international business.

The rest of the world isn't standing still.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board

This post has been corrected to note Robert Packard is a partner at ZGF.