The long-anticipated release Thursday of the sweeping Pacific Rim trade agreement text set off an intense public battle over its pros and cons that probably will rage until Congress issues its own verdict next year.
Critics of the Trans-Pacific Partnership insisted the accord’s environmental and dispute settlement sections were worse than they had expected. Republican lawmakers and some business and pro-trade groups reacted more positively as they pored over the text’s 2,700 pages.
The pact lists thousands of tariff items that will be reduced or eliminated, including rice, dairy and sugar. It also sets uniform rules and practices for intellectual property, labor rights, government procurement and other aspects of international commerce for the 12 countries that have pledged to adopt it.
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