In recent years, the Obama administration has put its full weight behind “fast tracking”
the Trans-Pacific Partnership, eliminating Congress’s ability to edit or stall the
agreement.
In response, Wikileaks recently released classified documents from the secret arrangement, and
condemned the partnership in a press release.
So what’s the big deal?
The US has fast tracked a number of trade agreements between countries in the last decade,
what’s so scary about the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
Well, first of all, this agreement covers a huge section of the world.
It governs international investments and trade regulations between the United States, Australia,
Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Together, these countries represent more than 40% of the world’s GDP, and make for the
single largest economic treaty ever.
The most recent Wikileaks release revealed that the partnership establishes extrajudicial
courts in which corporations can potentially sue countries over laws and policies that
affect a company’s future profits.
This is a huge deal.
Imagine a tobacco company suing a country because their anti-smoking regulations could
potentially hurt the company’s profits.
Sound unlikely?
Well, in 2011, tobacco giant Philip Morris used some clever legal maneuvering to sue
Australia for that exact reason on the basis of an outdated trade agreement with Hong Kong.
The Obama administration has promised that the deal will increase jobs, boost US exports,
and lower tariffs on US products in Asia, which will let the US compete more aggressively
against China.
However, economists like Robert Reich have called this a global “race to the bottom”.
That’s an economic term for when governments reduce regulations and taxes in order to attract
investing companies.
This practice has the added effect of lessening labor laws, lowering wages, and raising the
rate of outsourcing.
Additionally, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin [KAR-din] has voiced concerns that three of
the countries, Brunei, Malaysia, and Vietnam, have histories of human rights abuses.
Since 2012 there have been a number of protests and petitions to stop the TPP, or at the very
least to release the information within the agreement.
In a surprising twist, several House Democrats have vehemently opposed the idea of fast tracking
the deal, while Republicans have shown strong support for the President.
So what’s so bad about the Trans Pacific Trade Agreement?
In short, it’s a classified deal that creates an international court not bound by the laws
of any country, that allows companies to sue countries over potential lost profits.
Although supporters of the deal say that it is a means of future economic growth, Wikileaks
founder Julian Assange warns that “Similar tribunals have already been shown to chill
the adoption of sane environmental protection, public health and public transport policies."
With nearly 800 million people likely to be affected by this agreement, shouldn’t we
know what’s in the agreement before it becomes law?
Lobbying behind closed doors is a huge part of the american political system.
To learn more about how it works, check out our video here.
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