<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><i class="">More great work from the Washington Fair Trade Coalition…</i><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;" class="">“I don’t have average constituents saying ‘Do pass the trade agreement,” he said. “I do have average constituents beating down my door, saying ‘Don’t you dare vote for that.’”</span><span style="color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;" class=""> </span><br class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><a href="http://m.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2015/04/10/whats-driving-seattles-opposition-to-international.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+industry_2+%28Industry+Banking+%26+Financial+Services%29&r=full" class="">http://m.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2015/04/10/whats-driving-seattles-opposition-to-international.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+industry_2+%28Industry+Banking+%26+Financial+Services%29&r=full</a></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; line-height: 1; color: rgb(180, 180, 180); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" class="">Friday, April 10, 2015, 2:28pm PDT</div><h2 class="article-headline" style="font-size: 32px; line-height: 36px; margin: 0px 0px 0.4em; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(41, 45, 57); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">What's driving Seattle's opposition to international trade pact? Income inequality, Bellevue rep says</h2><div class="meta" style="margin-bottom: 10px; color: rgb(41, 45, 57); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div style="font-weight: 700; margin: 0px 0px 0.15em; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" class="">Steve Wilhelm</div><div style="margin: 0px 0px 0.15em; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(180, 180, 180); font-style: italic;" class="">Puget Sound Business Journal</div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">The massive Trans Pacific Partnership is in “real trouble,” and much of that is because average voters find nothing in it for them. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">That’s the view of Rep. Adam Smith, a Western Washington Democrat representing the Ninth Congressional District. He spoke during a University of Washington conference on intellectual property protection in India Friday, and touched on the controversial TPP in response to a question. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">“I don’t have average constituents saying ‘Do pass the trade agreement,” he said. “I do have average constituents beating down my door, saying ‘Don’t you dare vote for that.’” </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">Regional debate about the 12-nation TPP trade agreement has been fiery recently, with the Seattle City Council last month <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2015/03/30/seattle-city-council-unanimously-opposes-trans.html" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 139);" class="">unanimously voting to oppose it in the current form</a>. Most large businesses and many government leaders support it. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">Smith, who was on crutches after recent hip surgery, said a major reason for the anti-trade agreement stance is the huge disparity between the pay for people at the top of the corporate ladder, and those at the bottom. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">Because of that, regular workers think the only benefits of the TPP will go to corporate owners.</p><div class=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">“To our average person out there, TPP is another example of how corporations are for the super rich and not average people,” he said. “Does it make sense for CEOs to be making $40 to $50 million a year, when you have people working for you who don’t have health care?” </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">He said this issue of income disparity is so significant, that it’s understandable why so many workers see no reason to support it. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">“How do we fix that so that when workers come into my office,” he said, “they think TPP is a good deal?” </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">His Ninth District includes Tacoma and Bellevue, the latter of which is one of the state’s wealthiest cities. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">But Smith added that flattening that disparity will be part of the solution to people's suspicions about trade agreements. </p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.25em; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; color: rgb(68, 68, 68); font-family: Acta, Georgia, serif;" class="">“Pay them...Pay the workers more money, pay them overtime,” he said. “You don’t need to pay CEOs $50 million.”</p></div></div></div></body></html>