Obama Administration Takes Aim at TPP Countries' Public Interest Policies in New Report

[PETRUS]

Report Indicts Health, Financial, Religious and Other Sensitive Policies as "Trade Barriers" to be Eliminated, Spotlighting Contentiousness of TPP Negotiations

The Obama administration released this week a report that takes aim at a litany of sensitive domestic policies in countries currently negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), identifying the policies as "trade barriers" that the United States seeks to eliminate. The target list of TPP nations' domestic policies, published in the 2013 National Trade Estimate Report by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), offers unusual insight into why negotiations over the sweeping, 11-nation deal are contentious and have repeatedly missed deadlines for completion, said Public Citizen today.

The 406-page USTR report indicts a wide array of public health policies, financial regulations, politically sensitive manufacturing and agricultural policies and even religious standards as "trade barriers" that should be dismantled. USTR levies such criticism against policies in all current and prospective TPP negotiating parties, including New Zealand’s popular health programs to control medicine costs, an Australian law to prevent the offshoring of consumers' private health data, Vietnam’s post-crisis regulations requiring banks to hold adequate capital, and Canada’s standards requiring cheese to be made from milk...

Read more: http://citizen.typepad.com/eyesontrade/2013/04/obama-administration-takes-aim-at-public-interest-policies-of-tpp-countries-in-new-report.html

The article includes a list of some of the policies in question.

[G_j]

1. Well isn't "free trade" all about the bottom line?

meaning a race to the bottom?

[onpatrol98]

2. Sounds bad, I know...

But, I'm beginning to wonder exactly how much a president "runs" the country. I know he's responsible for everything that happens, but, really. I believe if someone stuck a microphone in front of the President's face and said...."Explain, Mr. President! Why are you insisting cheese be made from milk?" I don't think he would have a clue as to what they were talking about.

I never thought Bush was running the country. That's why its important to pay attention to the little people. We have to watch the people who are appointed. And, most importantly, their staff. It's a scary thought, really. But, in a way, even with a vote...we're really in charge of very little. It's the people who are never interviewed or elected that are really running the country. The silent, invisible ones...they're running the country. More and more, I think presidents are figure heads. That's why they have to be charismatic. And, that's why they really don't have to know how to do much, practically speaking. Because they may be in charge...but the details are taking place far from them.

They draw a big outline, but it's the people who get to fill in the dots that have the real power. I know. It sounds like a conspiracy theory.

[n2doc]

6. Well, when the president appoints Monsanto execs to government positions

He knows what the likely result will be. I am sure he is kept in the dark on the details, so he can have plausible deniability if the crap hits the fan.
BHO is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 1%. The main difference between him and Romney is that Romney is a 1%er, and is beholden to different subsets of 1%ers.

[xchrom]

3. Du rec. Nt

[KoKo]

4. Recommend. (sounds like some of the secret deal is being leaked

as trial balloon). The other details may be held back until the Agreement can be rammed through Congress in an all nighter vote.

There's also the EU Trade Agreement that's being done. It hasn't gotten as much press as the TPP but maybe there will be a TWO'FER bill called "Omnibus World Trade Agreement" which Wall Street will love and we won't know what the hell was in the details until the effects are felt.

[KoKo]

5. Here's Link to the EU Trade Deal in the works:

I had posted this in DU "Good Reads."

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Obama's EU Trade Deal Would Include New Political Powers For Corporations

Last edited Sat Apr 6, 2013, 01:40 PM USA/ET -
Zach Carter
Posted: 04/03/2013 7:30 am ED

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is pursuing a free trade agreement with the European Union that would grant corporations new political power to challenge an array of regulations both at home and abroad, according to an administration official involved in the negotiations.

While the plan is still in its early stages, the effort alarms consumer and environmental advocates who worry it will lead to a rollback of important rules and put multinational companies on the same political plane as sovereign nations.

If states are unable to pass and enforce laws within their borders, it could change the nature of their community and government, nonprofit groups emphasize. Exactly how broad these corporate political powers will be is undetermined, but one aspect of the agreement, known as "investor-state dispute resolution," would allow a company to appeal a regulatory rule or law to an international court, most likely the World Bank. The international body would be given authority to impose economic sanctions against any country that violated its verdict, including the United States.

"The dirty little secret about is that it is not mainly about trade, but rather would target for elimination the strongest consumer, health, safety, privacy, environmental and other public interest policies on either side of the Atlantic," said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch. "The starkest evidence ... is the plan for it to include the infamous investor-state system that empowers individual corporations and investors to skirt domestic courts and laws and drag signatory governments to foreign tribunals."


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MORE AT:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/04/eu-trade-deal_n_2994410.html

9

[forestpath]

7. There is just one word for this. EVIL.

[valerief]

8. Wouldn't want to let first world countries actually help their citizens, now would we?

[Teamster Jeff]

9. K&R

Corporations and their puppets are hell bent on trashing the entire planet.

[KoKo]

10. Wouldn't it be great of some of these countries would just refuse?

But, then we (USA) still have the Power in collusian with the Global Elite/Corporations/Think Tanks pushing these Free Trade Agreements..and some of the leaders are "Free Traders" themselves and the IMF/World Bank and other agreements in place will probably make it smooth sailing.

But, I wonder how "The People" will feel given the stress populations are having from the Global Slowdown (caused by Wall Street Crooks using the Deregulation they managed to get). How much more Austerity and Job Loss can the Global Population take?

I would hope that both the TPP and the Euro Deal would be shot down or at least slowed down. We shall see.