Trans-Pacific Partnership: Don’t Judge It Before Reading It

On Oct. 5, the Obama administration announced completion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement between the United States and 11 other countries.

Although many politicians and pundits will be tempted to weigh in on the TPP deal immediately, it is premature to evaluate the agreement until the final text is available for public review.

As the Heritage Foundation noted earlier this year, completed trade agreements should be fully vetted before they are voted on.

Fortunately, there will be plenty of time for a thorough evaluation of the TPP agreement to take place before Congress votes on it.

On June 29, President Obama signed into law Trade Promotion Authority legislation, which includes a number of steps that must be completed before a trade agreement can take effect. For example, the president must post the full text of the any proposed trade agreement online at least 60 days before signing it.

The agreement then cannot take effect unless implementing legislation to bring U.S. laws into compliance with the TPP agreement is passed by majority vote in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Although it may be tempting to weigh in on TPP’s merits and flaws now, a wiser course of action is to wait until the final text is actually available for public review. There will be plenty of time to fully vet the agreement based on its details, instead of based on hasty speculation.