CWA: ITC Report Shows that TPP Fails American Workers

Washington – Today’s release of the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) report on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) demonstrates that the TPP would not deliver the economic benefits promised by the U.S. Trade Representative. Instead, the report shows that the deal would be disastrous, increasing the U.S. trade deficit by over $21 billion per year and harming employment in key industries.

Most alarmingly, the ITC report projects that the TPP would increase the U.S. trade deficit in both manufacturing and the services sector. According to the report, once fully implemented, the TPP would decrease manufacturing output by over $11 billion per year and would decrease U.S. employment in manufacturing by 0.2%. The report also highlights concerns that the TPP would put call center jobs at particular risk of being offshored.

The weak economic projections in the ITC report are especially notable given that ITC’s track record is one of being overly optimistic about the effects of free trade deals on American workers and our economy. The ITC report also does not include the employment impact of currency manipulation, a recurring problem in several TPP countries that is not addressed in the TPP, which would result in even more alarming projections if properly accounted for.

According to Shane Larson, Legislative Director of the Communications Workers of America (CWA):

“The ITC has a long history of being overly optimistic about our trade deals. Yet, even the ITC's rosy projection paints a picture of the TPP that would be bad for American workers. Across the electorate and throughout the country, the public is coming out strongly against the TPP and for good reason. The TPP was based on a trade model that has led to lost manufacturing jobs, lower wages, and increased trade deficits. It's no surprise that those outcomes are what the TPP will deliver.

We can now add the weak economic projections in the ITC report – particularly the assessment that TPP would further harm American manufacturing and that its enactment would increase the trade deficit - to the mounting examples of failed promises on jobs, wages and worker rights that were used to sell past trade deals. The American public has made clear its overwhelming opposition to the TPP and the approach to trade it embodies, and now this report makes it even more clear why lawmakers of both parties should stand with the American people and loudly oppose the TPP.”