Question

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a large regional agreement that involves 12 nations, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. It is part of a larger Asian foreign policy agenda and has been considered highly controversial. The “Headlines: Making the Case for Trade” reviews the main arguments for free trade and argues that freer trade results in a wider variety of goods at lower prices, firms engaged in trade tend to have higher wages than other firms, that gains will come from the elimination of tariff, among others. But there are controversies as well. Please list and briefly discuss at least five controversial issues related to the proposed formation of TPP.

Answer 1

1. Free trade will cause job opportunities to be outsourced-
Global firms may bring greater expertise & superior systems to a local industry, but , free trade causes employment to be outsourced as the international workforce is either more experienced, inexpensive to recruit, or are ready to work with lesser safety safeguards. Tariffs & tax policies aid to lessen worker outsourcing as it keeps product price levels at competitive levels.

2. There are lessened IP safeguards-
IP rights may not be taken as seriously by international governments / competitors as they are locally. Innovations, patents, and procedures may be replicated in an environment of free trade & this lessens the potential of a firm being able to generate good employment at fair pay. Even when these safeguards are in place, there’s no guarantee that an international government will enforce the rules with the same strictness as a local one.

3. There are usually inferior working conditions-
Emerging marketplaces & developing nations don’t normally have the identical laws in place which safeguard employee wages & working conditions. Few markets even permit for children to be recruited for factory positions that are shoddy at best. Since free trade puts a point of stress on the dearth of restrictions, it can foster poor working circumstances that persons are forced to bear if they want to earn a living .

4. It doesn’t normally protect the environment-
Several free trade opportunities are contingent upon the natural resource availability. This causes the swiftest harvesting processes possible to be utilized, like clear-cutting / strip mining, & these can cause long run damage for domestic environments. It also implies that natural resources are depleted quickly for the local populace. An economy which is constructed on this procedure will usually fail as once the resources are gone, there’s nothing remaining to trade.

5. Free trade lessens revenues-
When free market norms can function without being curbed, revenues generally fall due to the intense competition levels. This aids big nations & corporations as they are previously priced into economies of scale. Tinier nations & firms must look for avenues to replace the earnings they lose & this isn’t possible always.