8 Terrible Things About the Trans-Pacific Partnership

[eridani]

http://inthesetimes.com/article/18695/TPP_Free-Trade_Globalization_Obama

#1 IT GIVES 9,200 FOREIGN FIRMS THE RIGHT TO CIRCUMVENT OUR COURTS AND ATTACK THE LAWS WE RELY ON FOR A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT, SAFE FOOD AND DECENT JOBS.

Foreign corporations would be empowered to drag the U.S. government in front of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) tribunals composed of three private arbitrators. Many ISDS arbitrators are lawyers who rotate between suing governments for corporations and acting as the “judges.”

There is no limit on the amount of our tax dollars the government can be ordered to pay when foreign corporations successfully argue that their TPP rights have been undermined. Compensation orders could include a corporation’s estimate of the future profits it would have earned in the absence of the public policy it is attacking. Even when governments win, under TPP rules they can be ordered to pay for the tribunals’ costs and legal fees, which average $8 million per case.

The TPP’s expansion of the ISDS system would come just as a surge in ISDS cases elevating corporate profits over the public interest has led other countries, such as South Africa and Indonesia, to begin revoking their ISDSenforced treaties. Recent cases include Eli Lilly’s attack on Canada’s cost-saving medicine patent system, Philip Morris’ attack on Australia’s public health policies regulating tobacco, Chevron’s attack on an Ecuadorian court ruling that ordered payment for mass toxic contamination in the Amazon, and Vattenfall’s attack on Germany’s phase-out of nuclear power.

Almost all of the 50 past U.S. ISDS-enforced pacts are with developing nations with few investors here, allowing the United States largely to dodge ISDS tribunals and fines to date.

But the TPP would extend ISDS powers to more than 9,200 U.S. subsidiaries of some 1,000 corporations in TPP nations, including the economic powerhouse of Japan.

The tribunals are unaccountable to any electorate. There is no outside appeal on their dictates. In effect, the TPP elevates these foreign firms to equal status with the entire U.S. government.

[KG]

1. but, but, Brunei is getting a minimum wage!

[newfie11]

2. I will never understand why Obama pushed this crap

[Proserpina]

3. Because you are pure of heart

and simply not cynical enough to understand the arrogance, greed and payoffs.

But that's to YOUR credit! Stay that way, as long as you can.

[MisterP]

4. because everyone who complains would still want the 22nd Amendment ended for a third Obama term

it's called charisma

[jwirr]

5. The source is an extremely good one regarding things like

this. Thank you.

I hope that we can stop this from passing before the 2016 election. And then if Bernie does win we can stop it totally.

[AzDar]

6. Reason #5,908 to vote for Bernie : Our best hope to kill this fucker w/ fire...