Advocates aren't impressed by the labor and environmental protections included in trade deals negotiated under President Barack Obama.
In 2011, Congress approved three bilateral trade deals supported by Obama. As we wrote at the time, the agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama included provisions to protect workers and the environment, but they weren't as strong as Obama promised.
Since we last updated this promise, the Obama administration finalized and signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the trade pact between 12 nations.
According to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the trade deal includes several binding, enforceable standards for workers and the environment, including:
• Banning child and forced labor
• Protecting the right to form unions and bargain collectively
• Requiring a minimum wage and workplace safety
• Imposing trade sanctions for violating labor rights
• Banning wildlife trafficking, illegal logging, illegal fishing and marine pollution
• Promoting conservation
• Committing to energy efficiency and renewable sources
The Obama administration argues that TPP contains the strongest standards in any trade agreement to date. Opponents say that's not nearly enough.
On the labor end, human rights and labor advocates say the enforcement provisions are inadequate, especially in countries with poor labor records such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei. (Read PolitiFact Global New Service's report on skepticism that TPP will improve slave-like working conditions in Malaysia.)
On the environmental end, green groups say the rules for forests and wildlife are too weak to have any impact. A letter sent to Congress by 450 organizations, most of them environmental, also pointed out that TPP effectively allows fossil fuel companies to demand compensation for climate change policies.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton reversed her support of the trade deal while secretary of state on the campaign trail, saying the finalized worker and environmental protections didn't meet her "high bar."
Criticisms aside, the future of TPP is looking grim. The Senate will not vote to ratify the deal before Obama leaves office, and President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to pull out of the deal on his first day.
The final tally for Obama: three bilateral deals and a doomed multilateral agreement that strove for but fell short of campaign pledges. We rate this promise a Compromise.