WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A report from the International Trade Commission revealed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement would have a negative impact on the manufacturing sector in the United States, US Congressman Dan Lipinski said in a statement on Thursday.
"If approved, manufacturers and their hard-working employees will be hit the hardest by this trade agreement, with our manufacturing trade deficit increasing by a whopping $24.1 billion per year," Lipinski stated.
In the statement, Lipinski pledged to continue his fight to defeat the TPP and similar trade deals that do not "benefit America’s middle class, raise wages, and safeguard the consumer and environmental protections that we rely upon."
In February, the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam signed the TPP free trade agreement.
Under the TPP deal, a free trade zone was established between the 12 nations, which constitute 40 percent of the world’s GDP.
