Dive Brief:
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Sports-retail giant Nike Inc. threw its weight behind the U.S.-Pacific trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which faces a U.S. Senate vote today. President Barack Obama, in his campaign to gain votes for the pact, visited Nike headquarters in Beaverton, OR, last week.
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Nike Friday said the deal would help it return 10,000 jobs to the United States, with many also brought back by its suppliers and other related businesses.
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The company also said that Q3 revenues were up 7%, factoring in currency swings, and CEO Mark Parker said its momentum would continue.
Dive Insight:
A lot of politicians have a bad feeling about this trade pact, known as TPP, in part because a previous big-time trade deal from the past, the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico in 1994, is popularly seen as bleeding jobs from the U.S.
Much is different about this deal. And companies like Nike say it will help them actually bring millions of retail manufacturing jobs that have moved overseas back to the U.S.
It’s not clear that any returning jobs would meet the requirements of a “living wage” or what the working conditions may be like. But retailers are increasingly coming under fire for working conditions no matter where their employees are working, and things may have to change one way or another, eventually.
