In October, President Obama hailed the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as “the most progressive trade deal in history.”

But progressive public-interest organizations say that the final text, the fruit of seven years of secretive trade talks between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, dashed even their low expectations. The deal not only continues most of the troubling features of trade agreements since NAFTA but also breaks worrisome new ground.

The TPP is a trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim countries to "promote economic growth; support the creation and retention of jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in the signatories' countries; and promote transparency, good governance, and enhanced labor and environmental protections." [Wikipedia] It has been formed through seven years of negotiations and should be enforced.

If Congress were to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership, it would help the economy, though not by all that much, the U.S. International Trade Commission said Wednesday.

By 2032, TPP would be increasing real GDP by nearly $43 billion annually, and supporting an additional 128,000 full time jobs.

"TPP would have positive effects, albeit small as a percentage of the overall size of the U.S. economy," the ITC concluded.

The biggest winner on a percentage basis would be agriculture and food, which would see a $10 billion boost, up 0.5 percent, by year 15 of the deal.

Details of the sweeping Pacific Rim trade agreement reached last month were released early Thursday, setting the stage for what is certain to be a period of intense scrutinizing, spinning and selling before the contentious deal comes up for a final vote in Congress as soon as early next year.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal was welcomed on Tuesday as a win for the United States in its contest with China for clout in Asia, as America’s allies expressed optimism about the impact of the 12-nation accord on a region worried about its dependence on the slowing Chinese economy.

When President Obama announced a massive trade deal on Monday, he heard cheers from business groups. But the unions and public-interest groups that usually support him rejected the trade proposal.

A dozen Pacific-rim nations including the U.S. and Japan agreed early Monday to a massive free-trade pact that would cut trade barriers and set new labor and environmental standards, setting up a potentially contentious ratification vote before a skeptical Congress.

The U.S., Japan and 10 countries around the Pacific reached a historic accord Monday to lower trade barriers to goods and services and set commercial rules of the road for two-fifths of the global economy.

The deal capped more than five years of negotiations.