As the federal government remains closed, Secretary of State John Kerry heads to Asia for secret talks on a sweeping new trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Often referred to by critics as “NAFTA on steroids,” the TPP “would establish a free trade zone that would stretch from Vietnam to Chile, encompassing 800 million people—about a third of world trade and nearly 40 percent of the global economy,” “Democracy Now!” reports.

The text of the treaty has been largely negotiated behind closed doors and kept secret from Congress. More than 600 corporate advisers reportedly have access to the measure, including employees of Halliburton and Monsanto.

Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, told “Democracy Now!” on Friday: “This is not mainly about trade. It is a corporate Trojan horse. The agreement has 29 chapters, and only five of them have to do with trade. The other 24 chapters either handcuff our domestic governments, limiting food safety, environmental standards, financial regulation, energy and climate policy, or establishing new powers for corporations.”

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

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