TPP Under Fire in the U.S. As Other Signatories Advance Towards Ratification

[Jefferson23]

March 25, 2016 | By Maira Sutton

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is taking a beating in the ongoing U.S. presidential election cycle, leaving some observers to wonder if it can survive such a political backlash against trade agreements. But as the leading candidates seem to compete for who can bash U.S. trade policies the hardest, other countries have been pressing forward to ratify the TPP since the deal's signature in February.

In the U.S., chances are close to nil that the TPP could get ratified anytime soon. The White House is still seeking congressional support for the massive 12-country deal but the political environment could not be any more unfavorable. Presidential candidates are pointing to trade agreements as the root cause of economic inequality. For the Obama administration, things look grim in Congress as well. More and more lawmakers are coming out against the TPP, while others who had long championed the deal are now holding back their support over their stance that some of the provisions do not go far enough to protect certain industries. The soonest the TPP's ratification vote may happen is during the “Lame Duck” period after November's election.

But even as the United States stalls on the TPP, other countries are moving towards ratification. Below is a summary of how TPP is advancing outside the United States:

New Zealand: The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs released a consultation document on the implementation of the TPP's intellectual property provisions. EFF has reviewed their proposals and will submit comments. One of the most substantial issues affecting Kiwis' digital rights are the changes the government would be required to make to its DRM rules. Even though the TPP bans the circumvention of DRM, potentially even for non-copyright-infringing purposes, it was a pleasant surprise to see that the government propose very permissive flexibilities that could effectively counteract this toxic obligation. We urge other countries to emulate New Zealand in this regard, and do all they can to support user rights if they are to ratify and implement the TPP.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2016/03/tpp-under-fire-us-other-signatories-advance-towards-ratification

[SoLeftIAmRight]

1. $hillary will stop TPP

Tpp is dead

lol

[Baobab]

2. Bill Clinton gave the keynote address at the WTO Ministerial in Seattle in 1999. So DONT be an idiot

and suggest Hillary wouldnt sign TPP, thats just an act. Its part of the usual cavalcade of lies to get FTAs signed.

Bill Clinton is the single human being most closely associated with the WTO,


Only a nut would think Hillary would stop TPP. Thats just an act. She's as neoliberal as they come.

Bill Clinton gave the keynote address at the WTO Ministerial in Seattle in 1999.

[Jefferson23]

3. Take it easy, I believe he is being sarcastic. n/t

[Baobab]

4. Show me countries without opposition- TPP with its potential huge increases in drug costs for Americ

would be a disaster for the country.

But what's even worse are the already ratified trade deals that are in their final stages of finalizing, like the 20 year old services pact, which still has not been fully implemented.

Thats going to heavily impact jobs -

Its already caused a global financial meltdown in 2008, and screwed up our health care.

[Baobab]

5. No we are

Economically, and the FTAS are a reversal of the progress of the past- basically war on the people of the world by multinational-corporations and the politicians they own with the goal being eliminating any real democracy thats left and replacing it with a fake TV drama.