Obama talks free trade agreements at G7 summit

The president met with fellow Group of 7 leaders in Germany this week to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership free trade agreements, among other things.    President Obama traveled to Bavaria, Germany this week to attend the Group of 7 (G7) summit along with leaders from Germany, Canada, Japan, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Russia had been a part of the international political group, then called the G8, but was removed two years ago due to concerns over its involvement in the bloody conflict in Ukraine.
   Among other things, topics of discussion at the G7 meetings included the two major free trade agreements currently being negotiated by the president: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
   G7 members Japan and Canada are part of the group of 11 other North American, South America, and Asian nations the United States seeks to bring together in the TPP. President Obama argues the TPP would be advantageous to both U.S. workers and the economy as a whole, but opponents of the deal, which include lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, worry it would lead to increased outsourcing of jobs and lowered environmental and labor standards.
   Part of the issue is that China, the world’s fastest growing economy and one of the biggest competitors to the U.S., is not a part of the 12-country agreement. Obama said last week in an interview on the radio program “Marketplace,” however, that China has already made inquiries about joining the TPP. More importantly, he noted an agreement would put pressure on China to follow international norms on trade.
   “And, if we are not there helping to shape the rules of the road, then U.S. businesses and U.S. workers are going to be cut out, because there’s a pretty big country there, called China, that is growing fast, has great gravitational pull and often operates with different sets of rules,” said Obama.
   “So, we started this negotiation, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, recognizing that a third of our recovery’s been driven by exports, that typically export industries pay higher wages, and if we want to make sure that we’re selling American products, American services into not just the next decade, but the next several decades, then we’ve got to have high standards, high labor protections, high environmental protections, in that part of the market, that part of the world, where we need to do business.”
   The U.S. government will still challenge China to improve its policies on currency manipulation and intellectual property theft, “but it sure helps if they are surrounded with countries that are operating with the same kinds of high standards that, by the way, we already abide by. So, part of what we’re doing here is we’re leveling up, as opposed to a race to the bottom, which means no labor protections, no environmental protections. We want to make sure that there is a level playing field that’s going to allow us to be successful, and will help to shape trade and commerce, not just in the region, but in the world for a long time to come.”
   The president also discussed the TTIP, which includes the UK, France, Germany and Italy in addition to Canada, although political analysts say the U.S.-European Union agreement could take much longer to complete.
   Opponents of the TTIP argue it could be used to decrease financial regulations once Obama is no longer in office and eventually lead more bad behavior on the part of big banks.