How Trade Deals Like TPP Fail The Global Poor (Vox)

From the article: The Obama administration insists that the just-released Trans-Pacific Partnership is great not only for the US economy — "supporting more well-paying American jobs, strengthening our middle class" — but for global development too. "TPP is the first U.S. agreement to include a development chapter," the US Trade Representative's office writes, "incorporating commitments to promote sustainable development and broad-based economic growth."

A pro-development deal would be a good thing indeed. Despite decades of presidents touting "free trade," the US still seriously restricts poor countries' ability to sell goods here. While the European Union imposes no quotas or duties on exports from the world's poorest countries (except on weapons), the US hasn't followed suit. It provides some exemptions for certain African countries and Haiti, but the exemptions are riddled with loopholes, and imports from poor Asian countries like Cambodia and Bangladesh face an average tariff of 15 percent. And both the US and Europe continue to provide domestic agricultural subsidies that make it extremely difficult for poor farmers abroad to compete.

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