What to Know About What Could Be Biggest Trade Deal Since NAFTA

Capitol Hill is readying for a battle over a bill that would give the White House "fast-track" authority to negotiate a massive trans-Pacific trade deal, and the fight could become one of the toughest of President Barack Obama's time left in office. The United States and 11 countries along the Pacific Rim are set to hammer out details of a sweeping deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and Congress wants to let Obama request an up-or-down vote from them on such deals in the hopes of giving the White House the power to negotiate better trade deals. But opponents on the left — calling the would-be deal "NAFTA on steroids," since it would involve almost 40 percent of the world's economy — say such power would largely cut Congress out of a deal they say would outsource jobs, hurting American workers.

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