Obama: US Vietnam Committed To Regional Asia-Pacific Trade Deal By Year's End

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama says he and Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang are committed to completing a regional trade pact before the end of the year. He said it would create jobs and increase investments in the Asia-Pacific region and in both countries.

Obama met at the White House Thursday with the Vietnamese leader. Sang said Obama agreed to visit Vietnam before his term ends.

Obama said both men also discussed issues of human rights. Before arriving in the U.S., Sang told The Associated Press that American concerns over his country's arrests of dissidents and other human rights abuses shouldn't hinder closer military and economic ties.

Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/Obama+Vietnam+committed+regional+AsiaPacific+trade+deal+years/8707251/story.html

[Purveyor]

1. Teamster Take Action

It’s no accident that average American families have seen our incomes decline over the last 20 years as politicians of both parties have signed “free trade” agreements, which do nothing but trade American jobs, worker safety standards, and food and consumer safety standards for bigger corporate profits. We don’t need any more free trade agreements; what we need are fair trade agreements.

Now politicians are trying to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement that would freely trade good American jobs and benefits for cheap products produced by workers in countries like Vietnam who are forced to labor in sweatshops and unsafe working conditions.

A recent report by the Worker Rights Consortium entitled, Made in Vietnam: Labor Rights Violations in Vietnam’s Export Manufacturing Sector, provides concrete examples on how the Vietnamese government maintains its low wage regime.

· Advocating for Labor Rights in Vietnam Is More Difficult Than in China
· Child Trafficking
· Forced Labor
· Unsafe Working Conditions
· Violent Suppression of Internationally Recognized Workers’ Rights
· Gender Discrimination
· Excessive Working Hours
· Inadequate Wages

[bemildred]

2. "Sang told The Associated Press that American concerns over his country's arrests of dissidents and

other human rights abuses shouldn't hinder closer military and economic ties."

Hey, we do it too, no problem.

[awoke_in_2003]

3. Alright, another trade agreement...

with a country that pays its workers slave wages. This can only help the American worker.

[Major Hogwash]

4. This should be a big boost to Vietnam.

As far as trade goes, and all.

[DainBramaged]

5. Another country to exploit

Thanks for keeping the jobs here Mr. President

[forestpath]

6. What's a little thing like human rights abuses to TPP proponents?

The only rights they care about are the rights of corporations to get richer no matter who else's rights are trampled on.

[PSPS]

7. Yes, let's have even more of that "giant sucking sound."