We spoke about the current trade agreement, the TransPacific Partnership (TPP), being negotiated by the White House, and its more than 600 corporate advisers, and countries in the Pacific Rim. Rather than a trade agreement, the TPP is a backdoor for corporations to receive laws to their benefit that would not pass in the open. Coalitions of groups from around the Continent and around the world are working together to stop the TPP and offer in its place a trade policy based on justice, fairness and sustainability. We speak with Kristen Beifus, executive director of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition and Richard McIntyre, professor of economics at the University of Rhode Island and US Trade Representative for the Green Shadow Cabinet.
Listen here:
The TPP, a Global Corporate Power Grab, and How to Stop It with Richard McIntyre and Kristen Beifus by Clearingthefog on Mixcloud
Watch here:
Relevant articles and websites:
Stopping the Trans-Pacific Partnership: Global Revolt Against Corporate Domination by Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese
With TPP, Obama has moved from transparency to secrecy, from human rights to corporate rights by Richard McIntyre
Why the TransPacific Partnership is a Scary Big (Trade) Deal by Kristen Beifus
Guests:
Richard McIntyre – received his PhD in Economics in 1989 from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. McIntyre is currently Professor of Economics at the University of Rhode Island where he also directs the University’s Honors Program and teaches in the graduate program in Labor Relations. He is the author of Are Worker Rights Human Rights? (University of Michigan Press, 2008) and many articles on global labor issues. With his long time writing partner, Michael Hillard of the University of Southern Maine, he is also working on a series of essays on the recent history of labor relations in the USA. They are currently writing about financialization and its impacts on paper mill workers. McIntyre edits the Routledge Press book series New Political Economy. At URI he teaches courses in political economy, global finance, and international and comparative labor relations. US Trade Representative for the GreenShadowCabinet.us.
Kristen Beifus – Executive Director of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition consisting of 66 diverse organizations across the state of Washington working for trade policy that benefits people and the planet. On the board of the Backbone Campaign as well as SweatFree Communities/International Labor Rights Forum.