Is it common to have keep the contents of a trade agreement under wraps until it ships? I can't understand why anyone would want to hide the deal. If it's going to get that much backlash before it's signed, wouldn't there be similar amounts of angry response after it was inked?
Except there's effort by the Obama administration to do this "fast track", which means Congress gets it as a "take-it-or-leave-it" deal, without the possibility to amend anything.
And you can mostly rely on republicans to NOT obstruct the process, because it serves their donors well to pass this ASAP.
(Not being partisan here - I think all congresscritters are equally bad here, it's just that right now it's the dems turn to hold the "make this into law" stamp)
Alas, it does increasingly seem that the biggest difference between the two parties is which corporations they favor. Neither gives a rip about the 99% of the non-billionaire population. One side occasionally gives a nod to the fact that even the rich need non-toxic air and water, but that's about as far as it goes.
The Korea FTA was submitted under fast track rules and it still took that long.
Fast track is being held up as some sort of boogeyman, but only Congress can impose fast track rules on Congress. If they intend to amend the TPP, they won't pass fast track first.
