Ohioans split on trade deal

Concerns center on jobs, currency manipulation.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership could wind up as the biggest trade agreement that never happened as Congress continues to hesitate granting President Obama authority to conclude it.

As for Southwest Ohio’s congressional delegation, it’s divided as well on how the 12-nation Asia-Pacific pact should conclude.

At issue is Congress granting Obama trade promotion authority, also known as fasttrack, which would require Congress to vote a deal up or down once it concludes, barring legislators from making additions or changes to the final treaty.

The TPP was first conceived more than a decade ago and aims to expand free trade agreements among the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The agreement would facilitate trade by reducing or eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade.

Much of the disagreement here boils down to history. For Ohio, a key point is the legacy of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the state’s subsequent industrial and job losses. Critics of the TPP say its impact would be worse and cite the nation’s — and Ohio’s — ongoing manufacturing trade deficits.

Obama administration officials say they’ve learned from the downsides of trade agreements and that TPP won’t be a repeat and will correct imbalances. But fierce opposition to TPP has risen from trade unions and allied groups including Public Citizen, the consumer watchdog group founded by Ralph Nader.

The actual treaty has been shrouded in secrecy, with little detail slipping out aside from what are advertised as leaked