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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsStopping the TPP: A Victory in the Global Revolt Against Corporate Domination
Stopping the TPP: A Victory in the Global Revolt Against Corporate Domination
Wednesday, 10 July 2013 09:20
By Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, Truthout | News Analysis
We are in the midst of an epic battle between the people of the world and transnational corporations. Wealthy governments and corporations are merging in a global system in which private corporations have absolute power over your life. This is a battle the people can win and when we do it will show that we can defeat corporate power on issue after issue.
The 1999 battle in Seattle to stop the World Trade Organization (WTO) from granting increased power to transnational corporations and the negative consequences of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) created broad public awareness about the ways that free trade hurts people and the planet. As a result, in the past few decades, the WTO has effectively been unable to move forward with its neoliberal economic agenda. And the United States was forced to move to smaller country-by-country trade agreements, many of which were stopped by public pressure.
The Obama administration is currently mired in an ambitious project to accomplish both the continuation of the WTOs agenda and a restructuring of NAFTA in ways that place corporate property rights over protection of people and the environment. Using the friendly term, partnership, the administration is negotiating a sweeping free trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which could potentially involve the entire Pacific Rim as well as a sister agreement with European nations. This is being done largely in secret and in a way that subverts the democratic process.
Former US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who now has a lucrative job in the private sector advising transnational corporations for the law firm Gibson Dunn, said that if people knew what was in the TPP, there would be no way to get it signed into law. As he told one interviewer, if the text were made public negotiators would be walking away from the negotiations because they would be very unpopular. ......................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://truth-out.org/news/item/17472-stopping-the-tpp-a-victory-in-the-global-revolt-against-corporate-domination
bunnies
(15,859 posts)liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)msongs
(67,462 posts)MotherPetrie
(3,145 posts)rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Catherina
(35,568 posts)xchrom
(108,903 posts)antigop
(12,778 posts)marmar
(77,097 posts)Last edited Wed Jul 10, 2013, 06:48 PM - Edit history (1)
antigop
(12,778 posts)Earth_First
(14,910 posts)Please, the world BEGS you to divulge this information!
cali
(114,904 posts)we do need more.
cali
(114,904 posts)Vincardog
(20,234 posts)Corpopratists can negotiate and sell us out in secret. Then when they retire to their Millions a year rewards and the people are screwed again, they can throw up their hands and say
"Who would have thunk it?"
LuvNewcastle
(16,860 posts)The free trade agreements kill jobs, at least the better-paying jobs. That must be why they're talking about raising the minimum wage. If this agreement passes, half the country will be working for minimum wage. Without a raise in the min. wage, half of the country will be on food stamps.
byeya
(2,842 posts)The little independent city of Galax, VA,(where we did our shopping & my wife worked) has lost 2700 jobs. The town once had 7 furniture factories(it's in the mountains so there's plenty of trees for wood); 2 mirror factories; and quite a few textile mills. None paid a lot but it was year round work. Galax had a wonderful park system that they can't really afford anymore and the school system, once one of the best in the state, is going down hill.
LuvNewcastle
(16,860 posts)Some of them have been recovering somewhat, but this agreement will end that too, most likely.
Phlem
(6,323 posts)I missed it the first time around but if it happens again I'm all over it!
-p
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)Enthusiast
(50,983 posts)It's pretty obvious the PTB do not want this TPP even mentioned in the media. And they certainly do not want the public polled on support for the TPP.