NEW YORK TIMES: The United States, Japan and 10 other Pacific basin nations on Monday agreed after years of negotiations to the largest regional trade accord in history, an economic pact envisioned as a bulwark against China’s power and a standard-setter for global commerce, worker rights and environmental protection.
The announcement here that weary trade officials had finally agreed on the Trans-Pacific Partnership was merely “an important first step,” the United States trade representative, Michael B. Froman, said. Now their agreement faces months of debate in each of the 12 nations, including in Congress, where some bipartisan opposition was immediate.
The trade issue also is certain to become a flash point of presidential politics in 2016, with populist anti-trade sentiment roiling both parties… (more)
