EFF: Stopping Fast-Track is One Way We Can Block TPP

[villager]

Congress members introduced a bill yesterday to “fast-track” trade agreements, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) through Congress. If passed, lawmakers would only have a small window of time to conduct hearings over binding trade provisions and give an up-or-down vote on ratification without any ability to amend the terms before they bind the U.S. government. This legal arrangement is at odds with the spirit of the Constitution, which gives Congress authority over U.S. trade policy. Fast-track authority (also known as Trade Promotion Authority or TPA) means that Congress hands that power over to the White House and the U.S. Trade Representative. Stopping fast-track is one crucial step towards blocking secretive and undemocratic agreements like TPP and the EU-US trade agreement, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The bill is titled the “Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities Act” or TPA 2014 for short. The press release for the bill claims that it “provides greater transparency and gives Congress greater oversight of the Administration’s trade negotiations.” This is grossly misleading to say the least. Fast-track would ensure that there's even less transparency and less oversight around trade negotiations that we have seen around the likes of TPP.

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If we block this bill, Congress will keep its authority to conduct full hearings on all of these agreements' provisions, so our elected representatives can be directly accountable for the kinds of harmful digital rights provisions that are included in these trade deals. At that point, we can take it up with our Senators and Representatives to question the entire secretive process that has been used to negotiate TPP and TTIP. It's clear that the White House and the US Trade Rep are willing to skimp on transparency in trade negotiations, but that is exactly why we need to prevent them from taking even more control over U.S. trade policy.

The time is now to stop fast-track and demand that Congress hold our trade negotiators accountable. Thankfully, more than 160 House Democrats and 27 House Republicans announced that they oppose fast-track last year, and other members of Congress have already indicated their opposition to this bill. We need to maintain the pressure and ask that our representatives oppose this draconian process. Demand that your Congressional representatives step up to the plate and take back their Constitutional role in trade policy and shine a light on this opaque, secretive process.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/01/stopping-fast-track-one-way-we-can-block-tpp

[blkmusclmachine]

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[jsr]

2. Recommend

[Doctor_J]

3. You'd think this one should be a slam dunk

Dems because it sucks, and Repukes because it gives the president more power.

Edit: There is no NEED for this to be fast-tracked - no need to skip the usual procedures.