Donald Trump has made criticism of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) a central part of his campaign. He has broken with Republican support for free trade by vowing to withdraw from the TPP and renegotiate NAFTA, which he blames for job losses in the US. Some voters remain undecided, with one commenting that Trump's campaign seems like "just a big show" and it may be too late to change trade policies that have already outsourced jobs for years. Trade unions support Hillary Clinton because she is perceived as more liberal, but her support for agreements like the TPP concern some.

1. Donald Trump has made his criticism of a pending Pacific trade agreement central to his
campaign. Is Donald Trump “just kind of a big show” “too late to change anything” ?
“Trump has broken with the Republican Party's traditional embrace of free trade.
He has vowed to rip up the TPP and renegotiate the North American Free Trade
Agreement, or NAFTA, an existing deal with Canada and Mexico which he blames
for the loss of U.S. jobs. Corey McNally, 40, of Whidbey Island, Washington, has
not decided whom he will vote for. "The union members love Hillary just because
they're supposed to because she's a liberal," said McNally. And Trump, whom he
called "just kind of a big show," may be too late to change anything. "This
company's been outsourcing jobs for years," he said of Boeing.”
Source: REYTERS. TPP foe Trump set to blast trade in trade-dependent
Boeing’s backyard. August 31, 2016. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/08/31/business/tpp-foe-
trump-set-blast-trade-trade-dependent-boeings-backyard/#.V8lqra1A79A
The AFL-CIO opposes the agreement in its present form. The AFL-CIO has urged Congress to
support a people-centered trade approach that will guarantee the benefits of trade can improve
the working and living lives of millions of workers and their families in the United States and
throughout TPP countries.1 Source: AFL-CIO. The State of Labor Rights in Trans-Pacific Partnership
Countries. http://www.aflcio.org/content/download/174525/4153892/1628_TPPLaborRightsReport.pdf Pg. 18.
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Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP) “ The United States and 11 other Pacific Rim
nations—Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore,
Vietnam and Japan—signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on Feb. 4, 2016. This trade, investment
and economic governance agreement was negotiated in secret from 2010-15. The signing of the TPP is
only the beginning of the process to make the TPP law – not the end. Each of the 12 TPP countries has to
go through a domestic process to approve or reject the TPP. In fact, that’s what last year’s Fast Track fight
was all about: to create the process by which Congress will vote on the TPP. We are doing all we can to
make sure America’s working families are educated about the TPP and organized to fight against it. The
AFL-CIO provided the Obama administration with ideas to improve U.S. trade policies so that they work
for the 99%, not just the 1%. Unfortunately, our ideas were rejected. The final TPP will not create jobs,
protect the environment or ensure safe imports. Rather, it appears modeled after the North American
Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a free trade agreement that boosts global corporate profits while leaving
working families behind. The TPP's backers--mostly big business lobbies--boast the trade agreement as a
“gold standard,” and the Obama administration promises it will promote and respect labor rights and
raise wages for U.S. workers and workers across the Pacific Rim. The grim conditions facing workers in
TPP partner countries were not effectively addressed in the TPP text or the side agreements called
"consistency plans." Too many commitments to improve labor rights and environmental practices are
vague, and the proposed enforcement scheme relies wholly on the discretion of the next administration.
The failure of the TPP to incorporate needed improvements to labor commitments that already have
proved inadequate in existing trade deals belies the agreement’s stated commitment to workers. Instead,
the TPP contains strict, clear and strong protections for foreign investors and pharmaceutical monopolies.
It is clear that, as currently drafted, the TPP would increase corporate profits and skew benefits to
economic elites, while leaving workers to bear the brunt of the TPP’s shortcomings, including lost jobs,
lower wages and continued repression of worker rights. During the negotiations, labor union input was
sidelined, especially in comparison to corporate input.” Source: AFL-CIO. Trans-Pacific Partnership
Free Trade Agreement (TPP). http://www.aflcio.org/Issues/Trade/Trans-Pacific-Partnership-Free-
Trade-Agreement-TPP