WASHINGTON, D.C. –Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN), and First Vice Chair Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) issued the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
“Today was the final nail in the coffin for the TPP. The activists, advocates, and American workers who have spent the past five years fighting this trade deal deserve the credit for bringing about the end of the TPP – not President Trump. Together with its partners, the CPC has consistently opposed the TPP and laid out a vision for fair trade that must be incorporated into any future multilateral or bilateral trade agreement to receive progressive support.
“U.S. trade policy must create good-paying jobs, stop currency manipulation, and protect the environment and public health. We cannot enter into trade agreements with countries that violate fundamental human rights. We cannot allow trade deals to ship jobs to countries that pay their workers next to nothing, and put hard-working Americans and small businesses at a disadvantage.
“The TPP failed to meet these basic principles and was met with opposition from people across the political spectrum for years. This has always been a bipartisan issue.
“It is up to President Trump to stand up to his billionaire cabinet and corporate boardrooms to create trade policies that benefit American workers, instead of increasing the profits and power of big corporations.”
In 2015, the Congressional Progressive Caucus released its “Progressive Principles for Trade,” which outlined trade principles that will directly benefit working people. Some of the principles include creating robust labor protections, prohibiting currency manipulation, implementing strong environmental standards, prohibiting special corporate courts, and insuring the health and safety of consumers, among others.
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