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In reply to the discussion: Washington Post hits the nail on the head, on what made Summers withdraw his nomination to the Fed [View all]OrwellwasRight
(5,170 posts)That's a fact. It already exists in NAFTA, CAFTA, Korea FTA and almost every single other trade agreement the US has. It is called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS).
You can read what the obligation is in the Korea FTA here:
http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/korus-fta/final-text
(click on Chapter 11, Investment)
And you can read the USTR's public announcement that it will be pursuing ISDS here:
Investment. The investment text will provide substantive legal protections for investors and investments of each TPP country in the other TPP countries, including ongoing negotiations on provisions to ensure non-discrimination, a minimum standard of treatment, rules on expropriation, and prohibitions on specified performance requirements that distort trade and investment. The investment text will include provisions for expeditious, fair, and transparent investor-State dispute settlement subject to appropriate safeguards, with discussions continuing on scope and coverage. The investment text will protect the rights of the TPP countries to regulate in the public interest. ?
http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/november/outlines-trans-pacific-partnership-agreement
Note that there have never been appropriate safeguards, which is why local, state, and federal entities in the US and other countries around the world have been targets of ISDS suits.
You can read more about the system here:
http://www.tni.org/briefing/profiting-injustice