John Kerry on TPP: "95 percent of the world’s consumers live beyond the borders of the US" [View all]

[ucrdem]

Secretary of State John Kerry at Boeing Renton Factory on “The World Wants What America Makes,” May 19, 2015:

{snip}

As I speak, exports support about 11.7 million American jobs. And that number is only going to go up. Why? It’s pretty simple; it’s really simple math: 95 percent of the world’s consumers live beyond the borders of the United States.

And if for some reason we just decide to give up and not to do business with them, to shut down because we think somehow it’s a loss of a job here, believe me, a lot of other people will welcome that at our expense.

{snip}

And the anger and frustration that has come from that has translated into opposition to trade itself, when the real focus ought to be on the other policy reforms that are necessary to address that concern. For example, on improving tax policy, on strengthening international labor and environmental standards, as is actually being done in these two deals that I’m talking about. The solution lies not in shutting the door to trade itself, but in transforming the system to make it work for everybody.

The truth is, the only people we know or I know who would benefit from a decision by the United States not to participate in the TPP would be international competitors. And believe me, they would be delighted.

Read more: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/texttrans/2015/05/20150519315756.html#ixzz3av6aPogD
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So basically Kerry is saying that focusing on job loss is a red herring, and I'm inclined to agree: NAFTA didn't produce a net US job loss or wage decline and TPP won't either. More on the statistics that show that here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026700031