Biden rejoining TPP trade deal would be 'abject failure' to contain China, United Steelworkers warns
Trump withdrew US from TPP in 2017
United Steelworkers is warning against President-elect Joe Biden rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, calling it an "abject failure" to contain economic rival China.
"The union sees a growing creep by academics and policy experts to encourage the incoming administration to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership," United Steelworkers legislative director Roy Houseman said in prepared remarks for a Senate subcommittee hearing about competition with China.
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"Often 'experts' try to highlight the agreement as containing China but our union has taken a close look at this effort to contain China and the TPP was an abject failure," Houseman continued. "Setting aside the fact that six of the countries in the TPP already have trade agreements with China, the rules of origin that the TPP contained were a barn door-sized access for China’s manufactured goods."
President Donald Trump, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Mexico's President Enrique Pena Neto, left, participate in the USMCA signing ceremony, Friday, Nov. 30, 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The Obama administration described the TPP as a "cornerstone" of its economic policy. The U.S. withdrew from the TPP after President Trump took office in 2017, earning praise from groups like the Teamsters.
Houseman focused on effects on the auto industry in his prepared remarks.
"The Ways and Means Committee minority report on the TPP in 2014 highlighted that depending on the rules, 35% of a vehicle would had to originate in the TPP zone, meaning up to 65% of a vehicle’s components could come from outside the party countries like China. When compared to the [U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement] rules which are set for 75%, American manufacturing workers stand a fighting chance at competing for market share in auto-parts," Houseman said.
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The USMCA, which was touted by Trump and his surrogates, was crafted before the coronavirus pandemic but took effect in July.
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United Steelworkers has 1.2 million members and retirees and describes itself as North America’s largest industrial union. Houseman's remarks come as many experts fear Biden will not take an aggressive enough approach in competition with China.