BACKGROUND INFORMATION

International trade agreements are often written from a legal vantage point with language that may not be easily understood by all stakeholders. This might result in misinterpretations of the agreement by the various stakeholders and unexpected and/or unintended second- and third-order effects. For example, an international trade agreement may inadvertently put an industry at risk between one of the signatories. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a policy instrument which has personnel and organizations that support the agreement, but also groups that vehemently oppose it.

DISCUSSION PROMPT

You have just been elected to the U.S. Congress and appointed to sit on a committee to evaluate whether the U.S. should sign on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). You are the junior member on the committee and have been tasked with developing a list of pros and cons for the TPP.

Tasks:

A. After completing the reading and watching the video in this module, answer the following:

1. Provide the top three pros and three cons for the TPP. Explain why you feel each pro/con is significant enough to warrant discussion within the congressional committee.

2. Analyze the TPP using one of the trade theories explored in this module. You should specifically address whether the TPP would violate any of the theories key aspects.

3. Provide your recommendation and rationalization to the committee, on whether the U.S. should sign on to the TPP. Assume that the U.S. has not yet decided whether to join or not.

B. When responding to at least two classmates, assume you are a member of the committee, and explain, using relevant theories and data, why their choice on whether the U.S. should join the TPP is or is not a wise decision. You must support your response to your peer with well-researched information (i.e. - not just opinion).

Ensure you support your responses with scholarly reference material using APA formatting.