Iowa AFL-CIO President Ken Sagar made the following statement after the release of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) text:
For years, this trade deal has been negotiated in secret, finally today the public will have a chance to see the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Working people will be able to see for themselves if this deal benefits America's working families over profit driven corporations.
Despite suggestions from the faith community, environmentalists, labor and many others, to date, there's no indication that improvements have been made to address labor standards, environmental protections or provisions that give corporations incentives to relocate American jobs to low-wage countries.
We will examine the text to see if enforceable currency rules exist, whether many Buy American & Buy Local policies are waived, and if the deal will raise the price of life-saving medicines. If these issues are not addressed, the AFL-CIO as the voice of organized working people in Iowa cannot support this agreement.
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