Image: A summit with leaders of the member states of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP). CREDIT: Gobierno de Chile SOURCE: Wikipedia Commons (This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.)

The lead negotiators for 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership began meeting today in Salt Lake City, Utah. The TPP is a potential new trade deal that would open up markets among nations along the Pacific Rim. The negotiations have largely been secretive so far, but the agreement is expected to impact jobs, the environment, consumer safety and more. Last week, transparency organization WikiLeaks published leaked chapters of the TPP covering intellectual patents, and the organization’s co-founder, Julian Assange, slammed the deal. Ameera David speaks with RT’s Ramon Galindo, who is in Salt Lake City and attended demonstrations today against the TPP agreement.