The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Hundreds of advocacy groups ask Congress to block Obama’s Pacific Rim trade pact

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January 7, 2016 at 11:59 a.m. EST
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), dressed as Sherlock Holmes, looks at Roxy the "TPP Tracker" bloodhound outside the Capitol on Oct. 29, 2015. Many House Democrats and advocacy groups have deemed the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal unfair to workers. (David Nakamura/The Washington Post)

A coalition of more than 1,500 interest groups is sending a letter to Congress on Thursday demanding that lawmakers block the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade pact championed by the Obama administration.

"The questions policymakers should be asking about these rules is whether, on the whole, they would create American jobs, raise our wages, enhance environmental sustainability, improve public health and advance human rights and democracy," the coalition writes in the four-page letter. "After careful consideration, we believe you will agree, the answer to these questions is no."