What most people don't understand about the TPP.

[MineralMan]

13. Until a final version has been negotiated and agreed to by

the negotiators, it must be kept secret. If it were not, no agreement would ever be completed. That's the nature of such agreements.

It's not legislation. It's not something lawmakers do. It's an agreement between nations, so individual nations' lawmakers have nothing to do with what goes into such agreements. There are simply too many points to be negotiated and too much complexity for it to be dealt with with massive input from outside the negotiating rooms.

When it's in its final version, it won't be secret any more. I suspect that the TPP is close to that point, so we should see the final agreement before too long. By that, I mean within the next 12 months. It's possible that its release will be delayed until after the 2016 elections, though. But, since it's an international agreement, probably not.

In most of the nations involved, final approval will not come after long debate in legislative bodies, but will come from decisions at a higher level of government. In the US, there will be much discussion in Congress and considerable dispute. However, by the deadline, it will be passed and approved. Historically, it will be approved by only a small majority, so individual legislators who need to can say they opposed it. But, it will pass.

That's why it will not be a major issue in our elections. The outcome is certain. It will be approved. Even if that doesn't happen until after November 2016, it will pass, whatever the outcome of the election turns out to be.