President Obama is traveling to Nike’s headquarters in Oregon Friday to gather support for the Trade Promotion Authority and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Since 2011, the U.S. government has been negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership with 11 other nations including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Chile, Canada and Mexico. The goal of the deal is to eliminate trade tariffs to bring down the importing and exporting cost of good, which in turn could help U.S. businesses be more competitive overseas. If the deal is approved, Nike has agreed to create 10,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs. Over the next decade, the company said the deal could also lead indirectly to as many as 40,000 jobs along the supply chain line.
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“Our employees and our business depend on free trade and the ability to reach athletes and consumers around the world,” CNN reports Nike CEO Mark Parker saying.
While the government estimates that an agreement will add $223 billion per year to the global economy by 2025, critics argue that the trade will hurt American workers and businesses.
Tom Chamberlain, president of Oregon AFL-CIO said the trade will benefit big corporations at the expense of middle class families.
“We don’t need another trade deal that benefits multinational corporations, their shareholders and executives,” said Chamberlain. “We need to be more concerned about American work boots than sneakers made in Asia for pennies on the dollar.”