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International trade negotiators from a number of nations gathered in Washington DC late last week for on-going secret negotiations over the Transpacific-Partnership (TPP).

Although details of the TPP have been kept under a tight lid, activists who have seen some leaked sections of a draft agreement refer to it as “NAFTA on steroids.” They fear that corporations and governments plan to severely undermine important labor, environmental, and health regulations in the more than dozen countries that are involved.

But President Obama seems to see it differently – he has asked Congress for fast-track approval in the hopes that a finalized version of the agreement can pass and become law by the year’s end. The TPP is seen as a way for the US to regain an economic foothold in a world dominated by China and other rivals.

Activists in the US upped the ante this week when they emblazoned the US trade representative’s office building with banners and signs and shut it down for a few hours. They want the draft of the treaty to be made public so that its contents can be scrutinized and debated.

Currently member nations of the TPP include the US, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and Vietnam.

GUEST: Ben Beachy, Research Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

Visit www.exposethetpp.org for more information.