The first thing to understand about the TPP is that it isn't about free trade: the trade barriers between these countries are already low.
The second thing to understand is that we don't understand what this deal is about, because we're not allowed to-- the details have been kept secret from us mere citizens (but not corporations), so the only details we know about it are from leaks.
If that alone isn't enough a reason to be opposed to this, allow me to quote an alert email from fightforthefuture.org:
Bits and pieces of every bad Internet policy we’ve ever defeated are being rolled into one massive, secret deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership -- and last week, legislators introduced a bill to Fast Track its negotiations.
And there's more...
Could it be they're exaggerating? Let's check what the Electronic Frontier Foundation has to say:
TPP raises significant concerns about citizens’ freedom of expression, due process, innovation, the future of the Internet’s global infrastructure, and the right of sovereign nations to develop policies and laws that best meet their domestic priorities. In sum, the TPP puts at risk some of the most fundamental rights that enable access to knowledge for the world’s citizens.
And if you're still not convinced, consider this news item today from Democracy Now:
The Senate is expected to vote today on a bill that would grant Obama so-called fast-track authority to negotiate the TPP, then present it to Congress for a yes-or-no vote, with no amendments allowed. The measure has received a growing chorus of protest, including from Democrats like Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who said his stance on fast track is "hell no." Public Citizen and the libertarian Cato Institute recently joined together to write an op-ed criticizing a component of the TPP that would allow corporations to sue countries in front of a tribunal of private attorneys if a law interferes with their claimed future profits. "Analysts with the Cato Institute and Public Citizen usually stand on opposing sides of trade policy issues, but we find common ground in opposing this system of special privileges for foreign firms," ...
Got that? Even our free market friends at the Cato Institute have problems with this "free trade" deal.
Here's some action items for you:
tell congress to oppose fast track of tpp (eff.org)
tell congress you're opposed to the tpp (eff.org)
again: tell 'em you're opposed to fast track secret treaties (fightforthefuture.org)