Owning a small business in America is a dream come true, but it does not come without challenges. Fluctuations in the economy, competition with large businesses, and stagnant consumer wages make running a business a daunting task. We look to the current administration to level the playing field with large corporations, but instead they are pushing forward a trade deal that only stands to grow the gap between large and small businesses.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is a multi-national trade deal involving the U.S. and 11 other countries along the Pacific Ocean. The agreement is labeled as “free trade” but it is anything but free for small business owners and consumers. The trade agreement loosens food safety standards, removes labels that identify food safety and origin, and sends a message to the American public that large corporation’s profits are more important than the health and safety of consumers.
The TPP would require us to allow good imports from exporting countries that simply claim to have safety standards equal to ours in the U.S. even if in reality they violate our food safety laws. Rules like this shift the responsibility of our countries food inspection onto the countries who are exporting the food. Labels that indicate food additives, pesticide use, or country of origin can be identified as illegal barriers to free trade and the U.S. would be required to eliminate the rules and laws that mandate food labeling. Food labels also let consumers know that the food was produced responsibly, like the “dolphin safe” labels on tuna, which could be made illegal under the TPP.
I am the owner of Grill and Chill Catering and we offer high quality, locally sourced seafood in authentic Caribbean and Southern dishes. It has always been our commitment to use fresh, never frozen foods and to view public safety as our number one priority. When closed door trade deals like the TPP are forced on the public, businesses like mine are the ones who suffer. Competitors without the same commitment to quality drive prices down, and removing regulations and labeling makes it harder for consumers to know they are buying an inferior product.
The Obama administration should be working to close the corporate tax loopholes that leave average Americans on the hook come tax season rather than pushing forward a back room trade deal that benefits big business and puts the health of the public at risk. We need to let the President and Congress know that we aren’t taking the bait. We need to stop Fast Track and throw the TPP back.
Stephen Black is the owner of Grill N’ Chill Catering in Orlando, Florida and a member of the Main Street Alliance of Florida.