https://medium.com/foggy-bottom/leading-on-trade-to-secure-our-economic-future-e9e8da1182f5#.qtzjnbxy5
Link includes a 4-minute video clip as well as text that's adapted from his speech.
Excerpt:
When we deepen our trade ties to countries along the Pacific Rim, we become better able to promote essential reform. Reforms that strengthen the rule of law, and encourage partners to secure property rights, enforce contracts, fight corruption, and respect the basic dignity of their workers and citizens.When we bolster the economic bonds between us and key allies in the Asia Pacific, we are better able to build our cooperation on other shared challenges such as the threats posed by terrorism, extreme nationalism, conflicts over natural resources, territorial disputes, and poverty.And when we deepen our commercial connections through TPP, we will rewrite the rules of the road governing the global economy in accordance with our values and the crucial standards of transparency, accountability, and rule of law.
But, the most important part: unlike in most past trade agreements, these standards are not part of some side deal; they are not contained in a letter or a side document. They are defined within the text of the agreement itself; which makes them fully enforceable. That means that each participant in TPP has to keep the promises they make — or face tough sanctions for every violation.
Regrettably — though probably no surprise there’s a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around TPP . . many Americans still feel a sense of anxiety about TPP and T-TIP. In fact, many Americans are reluctant to embrace anything related to trade. This hesitation stems from mistrust and anger about the economic status of millions of our fellow citizens, and, frankly, I understand. For many Americans, free trade is seen as a proxy for the underlying and disruptive forces reshaping the global economy — forces like the evolution of new technologies; the increased mobility of labor and capital; and the accelerated pace of travel.
. . . Protectionism is not the remedy to economic pain, and it’s not even a harmless placebo. It’s the way to stop our economy and this new world we’re living in dead in its tracks. So we have to find a better path.
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