ICYMI: Vice President Joe Biden Argues for Robust Trade Strategy in Financial Times
Read excerpts from Vice President Joe Biden's op-ed to the Financial Times encouraging lawmakers to back TPP and TTIP:
"The global economy is at an inflection point. The choices we make now will determine our role in the world for decades to come. We have an opportunity to shape the path of global commerce to spread our values and benefit our people, and we should seize it..."
"...America’s economic relations with the rest of the world matter more now than ever before. Countries that throw up protectionist barriers and distort their economies to favour state-owned enterprises are challenging rules of the road that we have relied on for decades. The question is whether the US will take a leadership role in shaping a new course that reflects American values – or whether we will stand on the sidelines as a new order unfolds..."
"...After decades when our economy grew but the middle class took a beating, Americans are understandably worried about rising inequality at home. The president and I are determined to address this. So the deals we are negotiating are different from those our country has signed before, reflecting the lessons of two decades of globalisation. They include unprecedented steps to protect labour standards, the environment and intellectual property, as well as new commitments against favouritism for state-owned enterprises. They require nations that might otherwise try to undercut us to match our high standards instead..."
"I also believe that good policy makes good politics. And trade that strengthens America’s middle class is both."
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