Debate over proposed global trade agreements
The Diane Rhem Show | December 17, 2013
Debate over proposed global trade agreements
President Barack Obama met with senior advisers yesterday on efforts to forge a large Pacific free trade area. The proposed agreement involves 12 countries and represents nearly one-third of world trade. Negotiators are also meeting in Washington this week on a U.S.-European Union trade pact. Both are touted as important strategies for job growth and boosting U.S. competitiveness. Critics say they provide easy ways for corporations to circumvent hard-won health, environmental and consumer protections. Diane and her guests discuss the pros and cons of two trade agreements in the works and lessons learned from NAFTA.
Guests
Simon Johnson: professor of entrepreneurship at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, senior fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, and author of "White House Burning: The Founding Fathers, Our National Debt, and Why It Matters To You."
Lori Wallach: director, Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.
Howard Schneider: reporter, The Washington Post.
