WASHINGTON, DC - Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) today released an issue analysis paper [PDF here] prepared by the Committee’s Democratic staff focused on worker rights in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement. The analysis paper is part of the Committee Democrats’ ongoing effort to increase public dialogue around key issues in TPP. A forum on this topic could not occur last week as a result of the snow storm impacting the Washington, D.C. area.
“This paper describes the most prevalent labor concerns in the relevant countries and provides a preliminary assessment of whether and how provisions in the TPP Agreement will address those concerns," wrote the Committee’s Democratic staff. “In all cases, but for different reasons in each case, significant and legitimate concerns remain as to whether the labor standards of the May 10th Agreement will be fully implemented and enforced."
The Committee’s Democratic members also requested views from a range of outside experts on the worker rights provisions in TPP. Submitted statements from the following experts can be found below:
* John Sifton, Asia Advocacy Director, Human Rights Watch
* Harley Shaiken, Professor, Graduate School of Education, University of California Berkeley
* Sabina Dewan, Executive Director, JustJobs Network
* Cathy Feingold, Director of International Affairs, AFL-CIO
* Steve Charnovitz, Associate Professor, George Washington University Law School
Ways and Means Committee Democrats have been hosting a series of intensive, in-depth forums on key issues in TPP called “Trading Views: Real Debates on Key Issues in TPP." Click here to read prepared remarks, analysis papers, and watch videos of previous forums on the environment, investment, access to medicines, currency manipulation, and auto rules of origin.
