BLAINE - A rally is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 1, to protest the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The event will start at 1 p.m. at Peace Arch Park. The event is being organized by a variety of labor groups, including the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Washington Fair Trade Coalition and the Association of Western Pulp and Paper Workers.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a free-trade agreement that attempts to further loosen trade regulations among countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. is among several countries negotiating to join the partnership.

Kristen Beifus of the Fair Trade Coalition said the partnership would be a bigger version of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Beifus said failed to meet promises of job creation and economic stability.

"There is nothing that indicates TPP is anything more than a colossal expansion of the problems of NAFTA," Beifus said in a news release.

Reach DAVE GALLAGHER at dave.gallagher@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2269.