Action Alert:
Please contact: Your US Senators www.senate.gov and US House of Representatives www.house.gov
Message: Urge them to try to obtain copies of the TPP draft documents for themselves and for you.
Background Information: Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) poised to be the largest free trade bill ever—currently being negotiated in secrecy. Leaked negotiation texts indicate many potentially harmful provisions.
The Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Bill (TPP) is being secretly negotiated by the Obama Administration. It is modeled after NAFTA the North American Free Trade Agreement which has been devastating to working class Mexicans and also has resulted in the loss of many American jobs to other countries. These bills are primarily beneficial to large corporations to the detriment of most ordinary people. Since it benefits big business many Republicans favor it. When President Obama was running as a candidate he pledged that he would put forth trade agreements using a Fair Trade model. He is dramatically ignoring that pledge and caving into corporate interests. Corporations are pushing for the TPP to:
- Offshore good paying jobs to low wage nations and undercut working conditions globally
- Create new tools for attacking environmental and consumer safety standards
- Expand the deregulation of banks, hedge funds and insurance companies
- Further concentrate global food supplies, displacing family farmers and subjecting consumers to wild price fluctuations
- Institute longer patents that restrict access to affordable generic medications
- Provide private tribunals in which corporations may sue the government of a country for loss of profits due to the environmental laws of the country.
A major problem for the common good of US citizens is that the negotiations are being conducted behind closed doors with very restricted access.
IF THE NEGOTIATIONS WERE CONDUCTED WITH PUBLIC ACCESS OUTRAGEOUS PROVISIONS IN THE BILL WOULD NOT BE APPROVED.
Instead of being debated out in the open, the TPP has thus far been negotiated in the shadows. Approximately 600 corporate lobbyists have been given open access to the TPP negotiating texts. A small number of civil society groups also have access to the texts, but they are vastly outnumbered and are legally prevented from sharing what they’ve read.
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO HAVE OVERSIGHT OVER TRADE AGREEMENTS AND WHO WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO VOTE TO APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE THE TPP HAVE BEEN BANNED FROM ACCESS TO THE NEGOTIATIONS.
Democrat Senator Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on International Trade, has initiated legislation that would require the White House to share trade documents with all members of Congress since he had been prevented access to the TPP drafts. He was finally granted permission to see the TPP documents but he was not allowed to share them with his staff members who work on such documents. Republican Congressman Darryl Issa requested permission to attend that TPP negotiations in San Diego in July. He was refused access. In June, 133 Democrat US Representatives sent a letter to the US Trade Representative, Ron Kirk, asking that copies of the US TPP texts be made available to all Members of Congress. This request has not yet been granted.
The TPP will be a very important trade bill because if it is approved the REGULATIONS IN IT WILL SUPERSEDE THE LAWS OF INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES. In our country US courts would not have jurisdiction over it. If it is approved the bill could not be changed in the future unless all of the countries involved agree on the changes. In addition, it may be the last Free Trade Agreement to be passed because it will be open to all other countries in the future. There are currently eleven countries involved with the negotiations. Others are planning to apply as well.
There is very little coverage of this bill in the general news media. Corporate interests seem to rule there. The US Chamber of Commerce is circulating positive information regarding the TPP stating that it will have many benefits. It is true that there will be many benefits for corporations. Unfortunately, the benefits will come at the expense of many people in many countries.
Click on the link below to view Democracy Now Program featuring Lori Wallach, Director of Global Trade Watch talking about harmful provisions of the TPP
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/6/14/breaking_08_pledge_leaked_trade_doc
Click on the link below to read “Trading Away Health” statement by Doctors Without Borders about problem drug patent provisions in the TPP draft.
http://aids2012.msf.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/TPP-Issue-Brief-IAC-July2012.pdf
Please take Action:
Contact: Your US Senators www.senate.gov and US House of Representatives www.house.gov
Message: Urge them to try to obtain copies of the TPP draft documents for themselves and for you.
Timeline: Before September 10th.. Congress is in recess until September 10th. Contact your Members of Congress at their Connecticut home offices:
Senators Lieberman 800-225-5605; Blumenthal 800-258-6940
Representatives: Larson 860-278-8888; Courtney 860-886-0139; DeLauro 203-562-3718; Himes 203-210-7711; Murphy 860-223-8412
