[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.49]this is the Economics Report.
[00:05.38]Top trade officials reported progress,
[00:09.08]but no final deal after meets
[00:11.99]in Singapore earlier this month.
[00:14.85]They met to discuss details of the proposed
[00:18.55]Trans Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
[00:23.10]The plan calls for removing non-tariff
[00:27.21]trade requirements among 12 Pacific nations.
[00:31.06]Supporters say the TPP would make trade easier,
[00:35.97]create jobs and help the economy of those countries.
[00:41.27]But critics say some of the requirements exist
[00:45.03]to help protect individuals, workers and the environment.
[00:50.63]The 12 nations are responsible
[00:53.93]for about one-third of all world trade.
[00:58.60]They include Australia, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
[01:06.24]Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States.
[01:13.67]Trade officials are set to restart talks in January.
[01:18.98]Negotiators are attempting to settle several disputes.
[01:23.94]The United States wants Japan
[01:27.25]to end restrictions on American-made automobiles.
[01:32.63]Some nations are arguing over
[01:35.05]intellectual property rights for films and music.
[01:40.03]Experts say earlier trade deals
[01:42.98]cut tariffs and other payments,
[01:45.49]this made it less costly to move goods
[01:49.09]from one nation to another.
[01:51.30]Supporters say lower costs increases trade.
[01:56.66]Charles Boustany is a congressman
[01:59.84]from the American state of Louisiana.
[02:02.88]He notes that in 2011,
[02:05.47]trade exports and imports of goods and services
[02:10.12]with TPP countries supported nearly 15 million jobs
[02:15.82]in the United States.
[02:17.83]The Trans Pacific Partnership is an attempt to increase trade
[02:23.64]by making rules similar from one nation to another.
[02:29.10]Lori Wallach works with the American activist group Public Citizen.
[02:34.71]He says some government rules for importing
[02:38.47]or exporting goods are necessary.
[02:41.91]He says they protect the environment and the health of workers
[02:46.97]and people who buy imported goods.
[02:50.92]Lori Wallach says the TPP is more about politics than trade.
[02:57.23]He says big companies have used secretive trade negotiations
[03:02.13]to get things done that Congress would not approve.
[03:07.10]He says rules that make work conditions safe
[03:11.05]or protect health are under attack
[03:14.65]if they are defined as a barrier to the international trade.
[03:19.74]Opposition from labor and consumer protection groups
[03:23.69]means the proposed deal faces an uncertain future in Washington.
[03:29.20]The agreement has to be confirmed by many national legislatures,
[03:34.80]including the U.S. Congress.
[03:37.12]Supporters of the TPP are seeking to prevent Congress
[03:42.41]from making changes to any agreement reached at the trade talks.
[03:47.98]And that's the Economics Report for VOA Learning English.
[03:53.33]I'm Christopher Cruise.