A reasoned view of TPP

Bloomberg View: In his robust defense this week of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, President Barack Obama has reason on his side. But allaying anxiety, economic or otherwise, requires not so much reason as reassurance.

The challenge for Obama and other supporters of the deal is to overcome the country’s anti-trade mood without reopening the complex and hard-fought agreement, which would surely collapse in the attempt.

For starters, he could build on his budget’s “wage insurance” proposal to create a more sophisticated program to deal with trade’s economic dislocations. He should also put forward a detailed plan for how U.S. agencies will enforce the TPP’s groundbreaking provisions on labor rights and the environment.

To reassure those worried by other controversial provisions – notably the mechanism for resolving fights between foreign investors and states – the U.S. should ask its fellow TPP signers to agree to review the pact’s provisions after three years, to make sure that they are working as intended.

The impact of any single trade deal on employment is hard to gauge, but in the long run, workers do better in a more productive and competitive economy.