Obama team releases text of Asia trade pact

The Obama administration has released the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- all 30 chapters of it -- and says it details efforts to reduce trade barriers that keep U.S. products out of foreign markets.

"It eliminates 18,000 taxes that various countries put on American goods," Obama writes in a post on the Medium website. "That will boost Made-in-America exports abroad while supporting higher-paying jobs right here at home."

Congress must still ratify the agreement between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, from Canada to Chile to Australia to Japan.

Some lawmakers and politicians -- including presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton -- oppose free trade deals, saying they ship U.S. jobs overseas.

Defending the pact in his Medium post, Obama said it requires participating nations to adhere to wage, labor, and environmental standards, reducing the incentives for businesses to move jobs there.

"I know that past trade agreements haven't always lived up to the hype," Obama wrote. "That's what makes this trade agreement so different, and so important."

The Associated Press wrote of the Trans-Pacific Partnership text:

"It is mind-boggling in its detail, laying out plans for the handling of trade in everything from zinc dust to railway sleepers and live eels. ...

"The documents show the pact reached Oct. 5 in Atlanta after several years of talks is chock full of good intentions. Negotiators agreed to promote environmental sustainability, respect the rights and needs of indigenous peoples, and temper protections for drug patents with safeguards for public health and access to medicines."