Image Courtesy of "GlobalTradeWatch" on Flickr Creative Commons

This post previously ran in The Huffington Post's Business section.

"Free Trade" was in the news this Memorial Day weekend.  President Obama is pushing hard for "fast track" approval of his Trans-Pacific Partnership ("TPP") Agreement, calling for a simple up or down vote without the possibility of amendments or floor debate.  

The New York Times reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has forged a "rare alliance" with the president to push the trade legislation.  Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orin Hatch has been quoted as saying, "It shows that when the president is right, we will support him."  (Never mind that Hatch has also been quoted as saying:  "I don't know fully what's in TPP myself.")

Dear Mr. President:  With all due respect, how do you spell RED FLAG!

Myths and confusion abound both around the meaning of so-called free trade and what the TPP is really about.  Here's what I know.

Image Courtesy of P6 Cooperative Trade Movement

In contrast to the TPP, our latest Field Guide story highlights how comparative advantage can be tapped into for the good of the whole, when members of a trade movement are working intentionally toward shared-value creation.  The P6 Cooperative Trade Movement is building an ever stronger and more-vibrant web of mutual support--based on sharing knowledge and expertise--among a growing group of food-based cooperatives.  The ambitious, larger goal of P6 is not only to strengthen the international supply chain for small-scale food producers, but to create a more just and healthy global food system.  The coop model is the shared-value glue that holds the network together.  Read about this remarkably regenerative network here.