(WASHINGTON) – The following is the official statement of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa in response to trade officials reaching an agreement on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a deal which would lead to thousands of U.S. jobs being shipped overseas and unsafe food and products flooding our store shelves.

“Bum trade deals like NAFTA have killed upwards of 1 million U.S. jobs, many of which moved abroad. And that’s the concern with the looming TPP. These big business handouts continue to hollow out the manufacturing base of communities and destroy middle-class jobs in their wake.

“The Teamsters and many, many others just don’t see any value in what TPP brings to this country. First and foremost is the deal won’t create any new jobs here. That is significant and can’t be pushed aside by proponents. After all, TPP backers like to insist it will result in new work for Americans, although they can never quite explain how. There’s a reason why their responses are so vague.

“In short, this is a bad deal that doesn’t deserve the stamp of approval from Congress. As the Teamsters have stressed as part of our new “Let’s Get America Working!” campaign, businesses need to invest at home, not abroad. And elected officials need to remember who they serve. Corporations aren’t people too.”

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via email