When people make that case about major corporations benefiting from this and I ask them in friendly conversations exactly what they mean, normally they seem to get back to the investment provisions of the agreement and the investor-state dispute settlement provisions in particular. As you can see on these provisions—which were in investment agreements before, but were put into a trade agreement for the first time in the NAFTA—we have been making some refinements since then in trying to make it clearer what these provisions mean, to get around any problem with these agreements potentially impeding legitimate regulatory activity by governments to protect their citizens or their environment. You can see in the provisions that are incorporated now in the CETA with Europe that there has been a sea change there. The provisions in the TPP are a major improvement in clarity on this matter, when you compare them with those of the NAFTA.
On April 19th, 2016. See this statement in context.