Following Last Week's Damaging Revelations About the TPP, the Obama Administration Expands

[Huey P. Long]

What's New -
Global Trade Watch

June 18 - Following Last Week's Damaging Revelations About the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Obama Administration Expands Controversial Trade Deal

For Immediate Release: Contact: Arden Manning [phone]

June 18, 2012
Following Last Week’s Damaging Revelations About the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Obama Administration Expands Controversial Trade Deal
WASHINGTON D.C. – That the Obama administration would invite an additional country to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after last week’s leak of secret negotiating documents revealing the proposed pact’s threats is outrageous, Public Citizen said today.
Last week, after three years of closed-door negotiations, the text of the TPP Investment Chapter leaked, revealing that the Obama administration had agreed to submit the U.S. to the jurisdiction of foreign tribunals where foreign corporations would be empowered to challenge U.S. laws and demand unlimited compensation from the U.S. Treasury.
The revelation was met with criticism from the political left and right. However, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) refused to comment on the leaked chapter. Increasingly, members of Congress are raising concerns about the pact, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness, who has been denied access even to the U.S. proposals to the TPP negotiations.
Following the growing criticism of the administration’s lack of transparency and the newly revealed substance of the TPP, instead of the administration reconsidering the many TPP provisions that would vastly expand corporate rights and privileges, the administration’s response was to add yet another country into TPP talks: Mexico. Meanwhile, reports out of New Zealand indicate that China also is pursuing entry into this so-called trade deal.

full-
http://www.citizen.org/documents/release-following-last-weeks-damaging-relevations-06-18-12.pdf

==

June 14 - Memo: Proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership rules could undermine Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans’ Health, hurting seniors, military families and the poor
June 13 - Leaked TPP Investment Chapter Text
June 13 - Memo: Public Interest Analysis of Leaked Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Investment Text
June 13 - Press Release: Controversial Trade Pact Text Leaked, Shows U.S. Trade Officials Have Agreed to Terms That Undermine Obama Domestic Agenda

http://www.citizen.org/trade/

[Vincardog]

1. If the leaks are true; this is exactly the wrong thing to do.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

2. Since Sen. Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced his Bill last month, hasn't he now gone silent on the issue?

The search function on his web site doesn't seem to pull up related information to show that he is still concerned about the lack of access to the information that his committee supposedly has the responsibility to oversee.

His Bill to allow access to information hasn't even been assigned to a committee so that it can be considered by the Senate and, if Reid will allow it, voted upon.

It would be nice to have information supporting the statement that "Increasingly, members of Congress are raising concerns about the pact," but isn't it more likely that they are going to respond in the same way that members of previous Congresses did and simply vote to approve of another wage-lowering, let's-send-more-jobs-to-foreign-countries "free-trade" agreement?

[GeorgeGist]

3. If all goes well ...

Foxconn will be building a major plant in Detroit.

[Huey P. Long]

4. Canada to join Trans-Pacific trade talks

Canada to join Trans-Pacific trade talks
Louise Egan, Reuters June 20, 2012

LOS CABOS, Mexico - Canada will join 10 other nations in talks aimed at creating an Asia Pacific free trade agreement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Tuesday, part of a bid to reduce reliance on the U.S. market in favor of fast-growing emerging economies.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks are aimed at creating a free-trade zone with a combined population of 658 million people and a gross domestic product of more than C$20 trillion ($19.65 trillion).
"This is a further example of our determination to diversify our exports and to create jobs, growth and long-term prosperity for Canadian families," Harper told reporters in the Mexican beach resort of Los Cabos on the sidelines of a G20 summit.

Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama said in a joint statement that the two countries shared the goal of "expeditiously" reaching a "high standard agreement that will build on the commitments of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement)," which went into force in 1994 and phased out most trade barriers between the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The deal will likely increase pressure on Canada to scrap a farm support program that other countries see as protectionist. Canada limits domestic production of dairy, poultry and eggs to match demand, and high tariffs are imposed on imports to protect farmers, a scheme considered unfair by competitors but one that has been politically sacrosanct. Many of Canada's farmers consider supply management essential to their survival since it allows them to compete against much larger U.S. competitors. Defending supply management has always been Canadian government policy.

-
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/cattle-news/latest/Canada-to-join-Trans-Pacific-trade-talks-159725105.html

[Autumn]

6. I hope our Canadian DUers are working against this at their end.

This is just another nasty piece of work.

[Huey P. Long]

7. Hopefully, yes. But here we are, with a 'D' president. Unbelievable.

[Huey P. Long]

5. We are on our own. -eom