The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, and free trade generally, are political poison these days. But what's the cost of rejecting the 12-nation treaty? In the presidential election season, the TPP has come under fire from both major political parties, a state of affairs that threatens to reverse years of progress toward free trade. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is pushing the agreement as a means of ''leveling the playing field for American workers and American businesses.'' Other supporters say the TPP is essential to countering the growing influence of China in Asia and the world at large. But opponents blame trade agreements for the steady erosion of U.S. manufacturing jobs over the past several decades. On this episode, we hear a spirited defense of TPP and the doctrine of free trade, from Sue Welch, chief executive officer of Bamboo Rose, a provider of software for business-to-business digital marketplaces. She describes the multiple consequences of a failure by the U.S. Congress to ratify TPP, and offers a realistic appraisal of the agreements chances.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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