Do I seem a little obsessed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement?

[cali]

I am.

There is no issue more important; not here, not now and not on the immediate horizon. We don't know nearly enough about the TPP as it's been negotiated with extreme secrecy, but what's been leaked is shockingly bad for everyone but corporations. And how could it not be when its being majorly forged by corporations and other stakeholders and legislators are being locked out of the process?

The TPP is NAFTA on steroids.

There is an enormous push to have the TPP accord finalized by October. Fortunately, it looks like they will not meet that deadline, giving up more time to broadcast how bad this proposed agreement is.

So forgive me if I post a host of ops about it, but the more research I do, the more alarmed I become.

If this "trade" agreement goes through, we are well and truly fucked by the corporations. Or rather we are well and truly more fucked by the corporations.

The TPP is a corporate wet dream.

more info here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023139237

Public Citizen has been particularly active about the TPP and has tons of good info here:

http://www.citizen.org/TPP

[Berlum]

1. the k

and the r.

[cantbeserious]

2. You Concern - Our Concern Is Warranted

eom

[Spider Jerusalem]

3. My biggest concern about this...

isn't JUST the secrecy of the negotiations, it's the very real possibility that, with the US, Japan and Canada as signatories it'll be presented to other G8 nations as a fait accompli that they'll be expected to sign onto "in the interests of mutual economic cooperation" despite never having had any voice in negotiation, and despite the fact that it makes sweeping changes to things like IP rights law outside the existing international framework.

[RevStPatrick]

4. Yes, and this is one of those issues...

...that people just don't seem to know or care about.

Trade agreements are not sexy, and tend to make people yawn.
But trade agreements are among the most important things that governments do, and can affect real people's real lives so much more than wedge issues.

[deutsey]

5. Aside from on DU, I haven't heard anything about this anywhere n/t

[AnotherMcIntosh]

9. Search liberal blogs and web sites:

E.g., Truthdig
http://www.truthdig.com/search/results/?q=TPP&cx=007550919732032875355%3Albmkk4fviak&cof=FORID%3A11&x=55&y=13

ACLU
TPP "The Biggest Threat to Free Speech and Intellectual Property That You’ve Never Heard Of"
http://www.aclu.org/blog/free-speech-technology-and-liberty-national-security/biggest-threat-free-speech-and

[Recursion]

34. Check out conservative forums, then

You see surprisingly similar complaints.

EDIT: I'm not saying Cali is parroting RW talking points, just that there are complaints about TPP all over the political spectrum -- except for the "sensible" center.

[deutsey]

36. I'll pass

I check out Freeper Land when it's in meltdown just for a laugh, but I can't stomach rightwing sites for very long.

[cali]

40. why believe the poster?

and there is a ton of information out there on the TPP.

You may not have heard much about it to date, but believe me, you will.

[deutsey]

50. I don't doubt that

I was basically just making the observation that I haven't seen it anywhere else.

[cali]

37. wait a minute, are you suggesting because conservative forums

have similar complaints, the issues with the TPP that I've outlined in this and other posts about the agreement, are somehow illegitimate?

And now how about you fucking link to some of those conservative forums with "similar" complaints?


And do tell how wonderful the TPP is seeing as you seem to believe that opposition to it is illegitimate.

[Recursion]

39. No, specifically not.

Sorry; I'll see if I can edit that to be more clear (I'm not saying you're parroting RW talking points). I'm saying there are plenty of complaints outside of the squishy center.

[pampango]

41. Not surprising. Nationalism and national sovereignty are big, deals with them.

The 2012 Texas GOP platform wants the US out of the UN, the WTO, the IMF and a host of other international organizations. They even still waste the ink in the document to express their opposition to the non-existent, but apparently still scary to conservatives, mythical North American Union.

My guess is that the prospect of foreigners having any say in what Americans can do internationally will set the national sovereignty posters light up the conservative forums.

[cali]

6. and that makes raising the profile of this issue, all the more important n/t

[AnotherMcIntosh]

7. It's good that you are. n/t

[forestpath]

8. There is no such thing as being too concerned about having many of our rights

bargained away so Obama's corporate pals can get richer.

[ananda]

10. Agree.

It concerns me that people aren't concerned enough.

[treestar]

11. I think we need more details

All I see is TPP=bad and an expectation that anyone who hears that go along with it without any backing argument.

[antigop]

12. yes, I've been following Public Citizen's coverage...lots to be concerned about..nt

[tritsofme]

13. I've never understood how the admnistration intends to move this agreement through Congress without

having Trade Promotion Authority, which has been expired since 2007.

In 2002 a Republican House that was more sympathetic to trade liberalization than the current Congress, only passed TPA for Bush by a couple votes.

I don't see how an agreement like this could be negotiated and then moved through Congress without TPA, and I don't see a good path for the president to get it.

[cali]

15. they're pushing for it to pass Congress

fast tracking, that is. But how much have they alienated Congress with the secrecy surrounding TPP? My guess is a lot. On the other hand, Congress is heavily pro-corporate. We shall see.

[pampango]

38. I think you are right. The House is more conservative and less sympathetic to trade liberalization

than it was in 2002 when it barely gave a republican president Fast Track authority. I think the odds that this hyper-conservative, hyper-partisan House will give Obama that authority is close to zero.

Not only do House republicans not like or trust Obama, they are determined not to allow provisions for stricter environmental standards and protections for unions among other things. These republicans don't want to be trapped into a vote for a comprehensive treaty. They want to be able to pick it apart, pass the parts they like and reject the parts they don't - like environmental and labor standards. It's the same approach that they are using on comprehensive immigration reform.

[antigop]

14. yes, it's a "corporate wet dream" and who played a leading part in drafting it?

According to Business Week, the "inevitable" one....

www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-01-10/hillary-clintons-business-legacy-at-the-state-department#p1

She’s pressed the case for U.S. business in Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other countries in China’s shadow. She’s also taken a leading part in drafting the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the free-trade pact that would give U.S. companies a leg up on their Chinese competitors.

[Chan790]

16. I daresay anybody not obsessed by TPP is paying attention to the wrong things.

NAFTA on steroids is only the start. The thing is a vampire squid of a trade agreement; it's too big, too broad and too powerful. It's bad for America, bad for American workers, bad for American businesses...the only question is why are we agreeing to it at-all.

[Enthusiast]

17. Why should we trust them after NAFTA?

And more specifically, why would we trust them to negotiate a trade agreement in secret after the harm that NAFTA did to traditional manufacturing and the labor movement in this nation.

Every time I hear a NAFTA apologist on TV they always have to admit, "There were winners and losers with NAFTA."

I would say there were winners and losers! The losers were the entire working class of Americans employed in manufacturing, millions of Americans. Our standard of living has been in declined since.

It is absurd to suggest that we should just passively sit by and allow those with a 'greater understanding of what is best for us' to negotiate a secret deal.

Fast track? I don't think so.

[antigop]

19. we shouldn't trust them..HRC followed in Bill's footsteps, according to Business Week

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3147666

[antigop]

18. thanks, cali, for trying to draw attention to this...k&r nt

[cali]

21. and back at you, antigop.

[malthaussen]

20. One of many ways in which we are plunging to hell.

It will be great for the economy... so long as you define economy as "corporate profits."

-- Mal

[antigop]

22. TPP = Corporate Power Tool of the 1% (video)

&feature=player_embedded

[antigop]

23. everyone, keep this kicked for visibility.....nt

[polly7]

24. Not at all, Cali and I'm so glad to see the well-deserved alarm.

There were a few of us who'd posted of it as early as last year but we were pretty much ignored. This agreement has horrible consequences, especially for the poorer countries who will be most harmed by it. 'The TPP will give multinational corporations and private investors the right to sue nations in private tribunals. These tribunals have the power to overturn environmental, labor, or any other laws that limit profit, awarding taxpayer funded damages. It will encourage the privatization of lands and natural resources in areas where indigenous people live.' Considering the horrific damage NAFTA did to the small farmers of Mexico, how will this effect those in Chile, Malaysia, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and once again .. Mexico?

[cali]

27. thank you polly.

I'm late to the issue, but I've been doing masses of research (insomnia has to be good for something, right?)

The private tribunal business is so atrocious.

[polly7]

31. And you've done great research! Thank you for all of it. nt.

[G_j]

25. +10000

[TDale313]

26. Kicking, cause this is *so* important.

Thanks for continuing to discussing TPP.

[cali]

28. thank you.

[senseandsensibility]

29. Don't stop telling us about this. You need to be a little bit "obsessive" to break through all

the noise and get people, even on a progressive board, to read. And of course, reading is just the first step. Action, such as calling your rep, is necessary. Your post yesterday about that was great, but you may need to remind people who didn't see it.

[Starry Messenger]

30. I'm glad you are.

I keep meaning to get to know more about it and I'm grateful you're keeping it on the radar.

[cali]

32. hey, starry, thank you. Public Citizen is a great place to learn more about it.

[kenny blankenship]

33. Since the thrust of the treaty seems to be to destroy democracy + national sovereignty

so that people of all countries enslaved by the TPP treaty will have no peaceful means left to rein in the worst abuses of capitalism, I'd say your intense focus and horror at TPP is well warranted.

[antigop]

35. + 100 nt

[Mojorabbit]

54. This is what I am afraid will happen. nt

[antigop]

42. keep it kicked.... nt

[starroute]

43. Don't ignore the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

It's hard to decipher the government doubletalk -- but what I've read suggests this would be completely equivalent to the TPP.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/17/fact-sheet-transatlantic-trade-and-investment-partnership-t-tip

June 17, 2013
FACT SHEET: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP)

Today President Obama, together with European Commission President Barroso and European Council President Van Rompuy, announced that the United States and the European Union (EU) will be launching negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) agreement. The first round of T-TIP negotiations will take place the week of July 8 in Washington, D.C., under the leadership of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

T-TIP will be an ambitious, comprehensive, and high-standard trade and investment agreement that offers significant benefits in terms of promoting U.S. international competitiveness, jobs, and growth.

T-TIP will aim to boost economic growth in the United States and the EU and add to the more than 13 million American and EU jobs already supported by transatlantic trade and investment.

In particular, T-TIP will aim to:

* Further open EU markets, increasing the $458 billion in goods and private services the United States exported in 2012 to the EU, our largest export market.
* Strengthen rules-based investment to grow the world’s largest investment relationship. The United States and the EU already maintain a total of nearly $3.7 trillion in investment in each other’s economies (as of 2011).
* Eliminate all tariffs on trade.
* Tackle costly “behind the border” non-tariff barriers that impede the flow of goods, including agricultural goods.
* Obtain improved market access on trade in services.
* Significantly reduce the cost of differences in regulations and standards by promoting greater compatibility, transparency, and cooperation, while maintaining our high levels of health, safety, and environmental protection.
* Develop rules, principles, and new modes of cooperation on issues of global concern, including intellectual property and market-based disciplines addressing state-owned enterprises and discriminatory localization barriers to trade.
* Promote the global competitiveness of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

[cali]

44. Thank you so much for that information

I've been wondering how bad that is, but I've been so absorbed by TPP that I haven't gotten there yet. Wish you'd do an OP on it.

[starroute]

51. I don't know the details of it myself

I've just been picking up bits and pieces along the way. One thing I do know is that Europe has shown increasing resistance to GMOs and the insecticides that are killing honeybees, and there are fears that this could be used to make that impossible. Another is that there are active concerns from the people who care about copyright issues and the freedom of the internet. But each group is pointing to its own little piece of what this could do, and I'm not sure anyone is pulling it all together.

[woo me with science]

45. Thank you. nt

[antigop]

46. Public Citizen info on it...

COMMENTS CONCERNING THE PROPOSED
TRANS-ATLANTIC FREE TRADE AGREEMENT
(TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP)


http://www.citizen.org/documents/TAFTA-comments.pdf

[woo me with science]

47. Keep the posts coming.

We all need to sound the alarm on this massive assault and betrayal.

K&R

[antigop]

48. keep it kicked and keep posting info. nt

[antigop]

49. don't forget to give it a rec, too. nt

[Skittles]

52. thanks cali

too many people just DO. NOT. GET. IT.

[pa28]

53. k&r

[Demo_Chris]

55. kick