Obama Is Selling the TPP Trade Deal Just Like Al Gore Sold NAFTA

[DanTex]

7. On the other hand, one big difference is that Gore's argument that our economy was going to

grow hugely by exporting more stuff to Mexico, or that if we don't sign NAFTA then Mexico is going to somehow leave the US behind and team up with Japan, those strike me as pretty dumb on face.

On the other hand, most of the countries that are part of TPP are wealthy, comparable to the US in per capita economic statistics. E.g. Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan. There are exceptions, notably Vietnam. But, still, arguing that more and freer trade with Japan and Korea would benefit us is much more plausible than the Mexican exports miracle that Gore was promising. And also, it is a fact that some of these nations do discriminate against US companies with non-tariff barriers, the Japanese auto market being an example.

And second, the geopolitical significance of TPP is real, in that we're talking about consolidating US economic influence in China's backyard, as opposed some phony fear that Mexico is going to leave us behind by trading with Japan or whoever.

Still, it's true that a lot of the core arguments are the same, including "this time is different" and "this is our chance to raise labor and environmental standards in other countries" and so on.