THE UNITED STATES AND 11
OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE OFFICIALLY REACHED AN AGREEMENT IN THE
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP.
THIS IS THE PACIFIC TRADE PACT.
ESSENTIALLY IF YOU ARE WONDERING WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S
GOING TO BE MORE TRANSPARENCY NOW THAT THEY HAVE REACHED
A DEAL, THINK AGAIN.
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF TRANSPARENCY.
THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT WE DO KNOW.
FIRST THE BASICS.
IN A PRESS CONFERENCE IN ATLANTA, TRADE MINISTERS FROM THE
UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, AND JAPAN, TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP
SET AMBITIOUS AND CHALLENGING NEGOTIATIONS THAT WILL CUT RED
TAPE GLOBALLY AND SET THE RULES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY FOR TRADE.
WHILE IT STILL FACES MAJOR HURDLES,
THE DEAL WOULD RESHAPE INDUSTRIES AND INFLUENCE
EVERYTHING FROM THE PRICE OF CHEESE TO THE COST OF
CANCER TREATMENTS.
IT WOULD BECOME A NEW FLASHPOINT FOR THE 2016
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, AND COULD BECOME A LEGACY DEFINING
AGREEMENT FOR THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.
EVEN THOUGH THESE COUNTRIES HAVE REACHED SOME SORT OF
NEGOTIATION OR DEAL, WE'RE STILL UNSURE AS TO WHETHER OR NOT
CONGRESS LAWMAKERS ARE IN FAVOR OF THIS PLAN OR DEAL.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT CLEAR ABOUT THIS IS
SOMETHING THAT HAD HELD UP FOR A LONG TIME, WHICH IS HOW LONG
DO PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES GET TO HOLD A MONOPOLY ON THEIR
DRUGS.
THE U.S.
ARGUED FOR THE LONGEST TIME THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE THAT
MONOPOLY FOR 12 YEARS.
THAT IS A STUNNINGLY LONG TIME.
UP UNTIL RECENTLY, THE STANDARD USED TO BE FIVE YEARS.
FIVE YEARS IS A VERY LONG TIME FOR ME.
THEY SAID THE REASON FOR THAT IS THAT WE SPEND A LOT OF
MONEY CREATING THESE DRUGS, AND YOU HAVE TO MAKE THAT MONEY
BACK BY BEING ABLE TO CHARGE WHATEVER YOU LIKE.
OTHER COUNTRIES SAY NO, FIVE YEARS IS A LONG TIME.
COUNTRIES LIKE NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIA ARGUED FOR FIVE YEARS.
WE'RE NOT REALLY SURE WHAT'S IN THE NEW DEAL.
THE NEW YORK TIMES SAYS IT'S BETWEEN 5 TO 8
YEARS NOW.
SO MUCH FOR TRANSPARENCY.
THAT IS THE CRAZIEST PART OF THE STORY.
THIS IS GOING TO HAVE A HUGE IMPACT ON EVERY COUNTRY.
YOU WOULD THINK THAT IF THIS NEWS INDICATES THAT THEY
HAVE COME UP WITH A DEAL AND THEY ARE GOING TO GO FOR IT
AGGRESSIVELY, SHOULDN'T CITIZENS KNOW WHAT IS IN IT?
ARE WE EVER GOING TO FIND OUT?
WE KNOW EVEN LESS NOW.
I KNOW WHY THEY WANT TO KEEP IT A SECRET.
IF YOU ARE NEGOTIATING ALL THE STUFF IN PUBLIC, PEOPLE
WILL NITPICK.
AT THE SAME TIME, THERE IS TREMENDOUS IRONY IN SAYING
THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, THEY
CANNOT FIND OUT WHAT IS IN THE DEAL.
OUR OWN REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE A GREAT MAJORITY OF THESE
NEGOTIATORS WERE NOT ALLOWED TO FIND OUT.
IT'S QUITE STUNNING.
WE LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY, RIGHT?
IF OUR REPRESENTATIVES DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN IT, WHO DOES?
CORPORATIONS DO.
RECENTLY THERE WAS A BREAKTHROUGH AND THEY SAID
THEY WERE GOING TO LET AMERICAN
POLITICIANS LOOK AT THE DEAL.
OUR CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO
LOOK AT IT.
BUT THEY SAID THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE IT OUT OF
THE ROOM, SO GOOD LUCK IN MEMORIZING IT.
THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO BRING LAWYERS WITH THEM OR
ANY STAFFERS.
BUT A CORPORATION CAN BRING ALL THE LAWYERS, LOBBYISTS
IN THE WORLD ETC.
THIS IS NOT REASONABLE.
I KNOW THEY ARE ALREADY BOUGHT BY CORPORATIONS ANYWAY, BUT
THIS IS OUTSIDE OF THE BOUNDS
OF REASON.
WE PUSHED AS HARD AS WE COULD ON BEHALF OF NOT JUST AMERICAN
CORPORATIONS, MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS.
SOME OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE DIFFERENT LAWS.
IN OTHER COUNTRIES YOU CAN'T LEGALLY BRIBE POLITICIANS.
YEAH, WELL, HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT WORK?
IT'S SO STRANGE.
THE MONEY ISN'T PAID FOR BY EXXON MOBIL, AND PFIZER.
IT'S PAID FOR BY THE PEOPLE.
SINCE WE ALLOW FOR LEGALIZED BRIBERY, OUR GOVERNMENT IS
THE MOST CORRUPT IN THESE NEGOTIATIONS.
I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
WITH PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES, THEY ARE NOT HAPPY THAT THE
MONOPOLY THAT THEY WILL HAVE ON CERTAIN DRUGS WILL BE EIGHT
YEARS.
HEREíS SOMETHING THAT THE GUARDIAN REPORTED ON.
" THE BIOTECHNOLOGY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION IN WASHINGTON
DC SAID IT WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED BY REPORTS THAT U.S.
NEGOTIATORS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CONVINCE AUSTRALIA AND OTHER
TPP MEMBERS TO ADOPT THE 12 YEAR STANDARD APPROVED BY CONGRESS."
THEY HAVE ALL THE INFLUENCE WHEN IT COMES TO THESE NEGOTIATIONS.
WHY DID CORPORATIONS NOT GET EVERYTHING THEY WANTED?
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 40 PERCENT OF THE WORLDS ECONOMY, WE CAN'T
JUST WRITE THE
RULES ON OUR OWN AS WE DO HERE IN AMERICA.
THEY WRITE THINGS 100 PERCENT TO THE BENEFIT OF CORPORATIONS.
HERE YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO NEGOTIATE WITH OTHERS.
YOU THINK THOSE BIOTECH COMPANIES WILL GET 12 YEARS?
THEY TOLD THE WHITE HOUSE AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS ñ
THE REPUBLICANS LOVE THE DEAL AND ALLOWED IT TO GO
FORWARD WITHOUT GOING THROUGH A FILIBUSTER.
IN THIS CASE, THEY TURNED AROUND AND SAID OKAY, GO PUSH FOR
12 YEARS AND THEN WHEN WE SETTLE FOR EIGHT, WE WON'T YELL
AND SCREAM "WHY DIDN'T YOU GIVE ME 12?"
THEY WERE TRYING TO GET EIGHT, AND THEY PROBABLY GOT EIGHT.
LAST THING, I AM IN FAVOR OF FREE TRADE.
BUT WITH THIS FREE TRADE MEETING,
DO I LIKE THAT THERE WAS A PACT THAT INVOLVES 40 PERCENT OF
THE WORLDS ECONOMY WORKING TOGETHER UNDER UNIFIED RULES?
I THINK THAT IS A GOOD THING.
SOME PROGRESSIVES THINK THAT IS A BAD THING.
I AM NOT A BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL IN
THAT SENSE.
THE QUESTION IS WHAT IS IN THE DEAL?
IN THIS DEAL IT SAYS CORPORATIONS CAN OVERRIDE
YOUR LOCAL LAWS.
WHETHER YOU ARE IN NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN OR THE U.S.,
IF YOU HAVE A PORTION YOU DON'T LIKE TAKE IT TO A NEW
INTERNATIONAL COURT.
IF THAT COURT SAYS I DON'T MIND THAT COMPANY POLLUTING A
LAKE IN ARKANSAS, THE INTERNATIONAL COURT HAS
RULED, SO WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT IS IRRELEVANT.
YOU CANNOT PASS ñ ACCORDING TO THIS, THEY CAN'T OVERRIDE THE
LAWS THAT YOU PASSED IN ARKANSAS ABOUT A LAKE IN ARKANSAS,
AND THE ARGUMENT WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF THAT BECAUSE IT
PREVENTS OUR FUTURE PROFITS.
IT SAYS IN THE AGREEMENT THAT THEY CAN OVERRIDE LOCAL
LAWS IF IT INTERFERES WITH THEIR PROFITS.
IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY ARE GOING TO WIN EVERY TIME, BUT IT
DOES MEAN THAT DECISION-MAKING HAS MOVED TO A NEW
INTERNATIONAL COURT.
IF YOU'RE A CONSERVATIVE WHO HATES EXECUTIVE
DECISION-MAKING BY OBAMA, YOU HATE ALL THE OTHER THINGS
THAT OBAMA DID, AND THEN YOU CARE ABOUT U.S.
SOVEREIGNTY, YOU SHOULD DESPISE THIS TRADE PACT.
IN REALITY, REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS WILL CRY AND
SCREAM AND SAY THAT OBAMA DID THIS WRONG AND THAT WRONG,
BUT GIVE ME A PEN TO SIGN.