Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, released the following statement today after negotiators from 12 countries, including the U.S., announced they had reached a final agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

“Today negotiators from the U.S. and 11 other countries announced they have reached a comprehensive and ambitious agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). While I have not taken a position on TPP yet, I have listened to people’s concerns about a number of issues, and I have closely followed the progress of negotiations with an eye toward those concerns.

“As I evaluate the final agreement, the issues I hear most about will be top of mind. These include protections for workers and the environment; safeguards for human rights; access to medicines in developing countries; the importance of enforcement mechanisms; and strong dispute settlement provisions that require foreign companies to live up to the standards we have in the U.S.

“I will also keep in mind that in Washington state, trade matters for our economy. About 40 percent of our jobs are tied to trade in some way. Our state exported more than $90 billion in goods and services in 2014, up from about $65 million three years earlier in 2011.

“People can and should read the TPP text for themselves. Everything in the agreement will be available to the public for at least three months before Congress can vote on it.

“The TPP is a major trade agreement involving countries that make up nearly 40 percent of the world’s economic output, and it deserves serious and thoughtful evaluation. I will take my time reviewing it and hearing feedback from my constituents before I make a decision,” Larsen said.

Once TPP negotiators have finalized all of the text of the agreement, it will be publicly available for 60 days before the President can sign it. Then the administration must meet certain reporting requirements to Congress and the public before Congress votes on the agreement.

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