Robert Naiman wrote: "Gimme that old time religion: anti-xenophobia populism."
Yes. The official labor advisory committee's report makes telling points about globalization on the China and Vietnam fronts: The TPP will allow China to benefit without even joining. Its weak rules of origin would apply to Chinese companies operating in any of the TPP countries. For example, if Chinese intermediate parts are exported to Malaysia for final assembly and export to the U.S., those parts can be made out of compliance with TPP standards, but still receive TPP benefits as part of the finished product. In the case of automobile parts, Chinese exports made out of compliance with TPP standards can even constitute more than a majority (55 percent) of the value of a vehicle’s content. What the TPP will affect is the relative attractiveness of Vietnam, which has wages one-third of China’s, as an alternative manufacturing location for global corporations. The TPP may well result in downward pressure on wages throughout the region, undermining the revival of U.S. manufacturing and job growth as well as delaying the emergence of a larger, more affluent Chinese middle class. As it stands, the TPP will do little but make it easier for firms concerned about rising wages in China to move jobs to Vietnam and enshrine corporate power over regulatory policy. This is a model for increasing corporate profits, but not for helping U.S. workers. From Report on the Impacts of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, pp. 53-54 https://ustr.gov/sites/default/files/Labor-Advisory-Committee-for-Trade-Negotiations-and-Trade-Policy.pdf The 19 committee members are presidents and high officials of U.S. trade unions. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
