U.S. trade negotiators must insist on tough standards on human and workers’ rights in a Pacific trade deal spanning 12 countries, more than 150 Democratic lawmakers said in a letter to the Obama administration on Thursday.
The lawmakers, who make up three-quarters of the Democrats in the House of Representatives, urged U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to do more to protect workers and labor standards in the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
As well as cutting tariffs, the TPP seeks to set common standards on issues like intellectual property and labor – an issue which is particularly problematic in Vietnam, which the U.S. Labor Department says uses child and forced labor.