TPP

The Media Exaggeration On TPP, In Fact Little Positive Impact

October 7, 2015 Dean Baker, www.fair.org Educate! Media, TPP

By Dean Baker for FAIR - It is amazing how the elite media can be dragged along by their noses into accepting that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) can have a big impact on trade and growth. If I had a dollar for every time the deal was described as “massive,” or that we were told what share of world trade will be covered by the TPP, I would be richer than Bill Gates. We continue to hear superlatives even as the evidence suggests the trade impact will be trivial. For example, the New York Times reported that US tariffs on Japanese cars will be phased out over 30 years. Wow! The most optimistic growth estimates show a cumulative gain by 2027 of less than 0.4 percent, roughly two months of normal GDP growth.

Stop The TPP: ‘Not A Done Deal’

October 7, 2015 Staff, www.flushthetpp.org Resist! Corporatism, Finance and the Economy, TPP, Trade

By Staff for Flush the TPP. After five years of secret talks, the twelve countries involved in the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations announced they have reached an agreement. The deal was written by corrupt trade ministers and hundreds of corporate lobbyists without public (or even US Congressional) input. It is much more than a trade deal– only 5 of the 29 chapters even deal with trade. The rest of the deal is about privatizing government programs and services for corporate profits, removing government regulations, and setting protections for multinational corporations and investors rather than the health of the planet or necessities of people. The TPP has supposedly been agreed upon (the trade ministers' announcement was vagur), but it has not been signed yet and there are still many steps before it becomes law. It is now up to us to stop.

TPP Agreement Reached, Mass Protest in DC Nov. 14th-18th

October 6, 2015 Edward Cohen, www.revolution-news.comm Resist! TPP, Washington DC

By Edward Cohen for Revolution News - After 5 years of secret negotiations the TPP concluded early Monday morning, Oct. 5, 2015 and yet the deal is not done. Each signatory country will now need to take this corporate rigged investors’ pact back to his/her country’s legislative body for passage. Sticking points included stronger intellectual property protections for large pharmaceutical companies, New Zealand was pushing for increased access for their dairy products in Canada, the US and Japan, and country of origin percentages for automobiles and automobile parts was an issue among the US, Mexico, Canada and Japan. Activists have called for a mass mobilization this November 14-18 in Washington DC against the TPP.

If There’s A Final TPP Deal: Can It Pass Congress?

October 6, 2015 Lory Wallach, www.commondreams.org Resist! Congress, TPP

By Lory Wallach for Common Dreams - If there really is a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, its fate in Congress is highly uncertain given the narrow margin by which trade authority passed this summer, the concessions made to get a deal, and growing congressional and public concerns about the TPP’s threats to jobs, wages, safe food and affordable medicines and more. The intense national battle over trade authority was just a preview of the massive opposition the TPP will face given that Democratic and GOP members of Congress and the public soon will be able to see the specific TPP terms that threaten their interests. With congressional opposition to TPP growing and the Obama administration basically up against elections cycles in various countries, this ministerial was extended repeatedly because this was the do or die time but it’s unclear if there really is a deal or this is kabuki theatre intended to create a sense of inevitability so as to insulate the TPP from growing opposition.

Communities Create TPP/TTIP-Free Zones

October 4, 2015 Margaret Flowers, www.popularresistance.org Resist! Democracy, TPP, Trade, TTIP

By Margaret Flowers for Popular Resistance. As negotiations of the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) inch toward completion, resistance to it and the other rigged corporate international treaties, the TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trade-in-Services Agreement (TiSA), is escalating. In the European Union, activists are working to pass 10,000 such resolutions. During the fight to stop Congress from passing Fast Track legislation that will be used to rush these agreements through Congress, cities from Seattle, WA to Madison, WI to New York, NY passed resolutions against Fast Track. Labor played a big part in making these successful. Now, new resolutions are underway in more cities with the goal of 100.

TPP Talks At Impasse, Negotiators Staying Until Sunday

October 3, 2015 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Resist! TPP

By Deirdre Fulton for Common Dreams - Negotiations that were supposed to end Thursday, then were delayed to Friday, then to Saturday have now been delayed until Sunday. Negotiators have failed to break an impasse on patent protections for biologic drugs and on dairy. The United States is pushing for a 12 year patent while other countries say they cannot go beyong five. US pharmaceuticals are insisting on a 12 year monopoly. On dairy New Zealand is pushing for increased access for their products in Canada, the United States and Japan. New Zealand is advocating on the world’s biggest dairy exporter Fonterra. Elections in Canada, the US and Japan are causing complications on the timing of the deal. If Seven Harper gives in on dairy, as he seems to have given in on automobiles, then he could lose an upcoming election. The fast track bill which requires multiple steps after a deal is agreed. Protests continued in Atlanta as opponents of TPP see an opportunity to kill the deal. A major protest is being planned in November in Washington, DC to seeking end TPP and other rigged trade agreements.

The Trans-Pacific Free-Trade Charade

October 3, 2015 Joseph E. Stiglitz and Adam S. Hersh, www.project-syndicate.org Educate! New Zealand, TPP

By Joseph E. Stiglitz and Adam S. Hersh for Project Syndicate NEW YORK – As negotiators and ministers from the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries meet in Atlanta in an effort to finalize the details of the sweeping new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), some sober analysis is warranted. The biggest regional trade and investment agreement in history is not what it seems. You will hear much about the importance of the TPP for “free trade.” The reality is that this is an agreement to manage its members’ trade and investment relations – and to do so on behalf of each country’s most powerful business lobbies. Make no mistake: It is evident from the main outstanding issues, over which negotiators are still haggling, that the TPP is not about “free” trade.

NDP Government Would Not Adhere To A TPP Deal

October 3, 2015 Steven Chase, www.theglobeandmail.com Resist! Canada, TPP

By Steven Chase for The Globe and Mail - NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair is serving notice that a New Democratic Party government would not consider itself bound by the terms of a major Pacific Rim trade deal which the ruling Conservatives are negotiating on behalf of Canada in Atlanta. The NDP’s hardening of position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks comes as the deal appears likely. Discussions in Atlanta have gone into overtime as countries clear obstacles such as how much foreign content should be allowed in Japanese-made cars and Asian auto parts entering North America. Sources said Prime Minister Stephen Harper is being regularly briefed on developments as talks between 12 countries from Chile to Japan enter what is expected to be their final phase.

You Knew TPP Was Bad. But Here’s How It Gets Worse

October 2, 2015 Dave Johnson, www.ourfuture.org/ Resist! Law, TPP

By Dave Johnson for Campaign for Our Future - Negotiators are meeting in Atlanta, trying to wrap up the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It might be wrapped up as soon as Thursday. While the agreement is secret, there are reasons for people to be very, very concerned. Here is a news article that explains why people should be alarmed about this secret “trade” agreement that the giant corporations have come up with. Reuters reports, in “U.S. business groups oppose exceptions in Pacific trade pact“: U.S. business groups have voiced their opposition to blocking specific products, like tobacco, from rules letting foreign companies sue governments over damage to investments as Pacific trade ministers gather to finalize an ambitious trade deal.

TPP Talks Struggle, Protests Increase, More Protests Planned

October 1, 2015 Kevin Zeese, www.PopularResistance.org Resist! TPP

By Kevin Zeese for Popular Resistance - Atlanta, GA - On Thursday night, October 1, the trade negotiators planned to hold a press conference announcing the success of their meetings. But, there was no press conference. There was no agreement. Instead, the same issues on which there is no reported movement -- trade in auto parts, patents on biological drugs and the dairy trade -- keep being stumbling blocks. People now realize that the reason Speaker John Boehner was forced to resign because of fast track and that without Boehner as speaker it is unlikely TPP will pass the House. So, not only does the TPP have problems reaching agreement but it is becoming evident it will have serious problems in Congress as well. We are organizing a major convergence in Washington, DC this November 14 to 18. We will have a training over the weekend and then three days of action. This could be a historic moment where the TPP is defeated by people power.

Open Government Groups Call For New USTR ‘Transparency Officer’

October 1, 2015 Staff, www.openthegovernment.org Resist! TPP, Transparency

By Staff of Open Government - In a letter sent today, OTG joined 22 groups and individuals committed to government openness and accountability to urge the USTR to reconsider the recent decision to appoint the USTR General Counsel as its new, congressionally-mandated “transparency officer.” The letter emphasizes the inherent structural conflict of interest between the role of general counsel, and the intended role of the new USTR transparency officer – a position that Congress established in the Fast Track legislation to alter and improve what many in Congress consider an unacceptable lack of transparency by this Administration with respect to trade policy in general and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) specifically.

Judge Shields TPP From Freedom Of Information Act

October 1, 2015 Adam Klasfeld, www.courthousenews.com Educate! Secrecy, TPP, Trade, Transparency

By Adam Klasfeld in Courthouse News. MANHATTAN (CN) – Drafts of the “vast, sweeping” trade agreement that the United States is secretly negotiating with 11 other world powers are not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, a federal judge ruled. The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed trade agreement between 12 countries bordering the Pacific Rim setting international standards over labor, the environment, agriculture, medicine, labor, the Internet, human rights, intellectual property rights and many other issues. By Adam Klasfeld for Courthouse News Service. Though first announced to Congress in 2009, a confidentiality agreement that the participating countries reached protects their proposals from public disclosure until there is a final agreement. Most information about the deal has come to light through leaks to the press.

Tractor Protest Against The TransPacific Partnership

September 30, 2015 Brent Patterson, www.canadians.org Educate! Canada, Farming, TPP

Ottawa area farmers brought a long convoy of tractors into downtown Ottawa this morning for a protest against the concessions the Harper government is poised to make at the Trans Pacific Partnership talks in Atlanta this week. CBC has reported, "Canada is preparing to open the border to more American milk, without getting reciprocal access for Canadian dairy farmers in the United States... Trade Minister Ed Fast will leave the campaign trail to join his counterparts in Atlanta on Wednesday [Sept. 30], intent on concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade talks. ...What Fast offers could seriously disrupt the supply-managed dairy sector. The short strokes on dairy come down to how much of Canada's domestic market would be opened up to American products to compensate U.S. dairy producers for opening up their market to TPP partners such as New Zealand, an aggressive and competitive dairy exporter."

Stop The TPP: Tell USTR ‘No To This Bad Deal!’

September 29, 2015 Staff, www.popularresistance.org Petitions and Online Actions TISA, TPP, Trade, TTIP

By Staff of Popular Resistance. Trade ministers from around the world are meeting in Atlanta, GA today through Thursday in a desperate attempt to finalize the text of the TransPacific Partnership (TPP). Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is feeling pressured by the October 19 elections as the opposition parties step up their criticism of the TPP. People are rising up in protest to this deal that is bad for people and the planet! In Ottawa, Canada, farmers brought their tractors to the capital to demonstrate against the harmful impacts the TPP will have on local dairy farms. In Atlanta, Georgia, a coalition of groups are holding a series of actions this week.

Does The Commission’s New Proposal Mark The End Of ISDS?

September 22, 2015 Flush The TPP!, www.flushthetpp.org Educate! Finance and the Economy, TPP

By Flush The TPP! - On 16 September, Trade Commissioner Malmström presented a legal text proposal for the chapter on dispute settlement between investors and states in TTIP and other FTA negotiations of the EU (Japan, Vietnam). The proposal draws the Commission’s 18-month consultation period on ISDS to a close, and will be discussed with Parliament’s INTA Committee and Member States in the Council, before being submitted to the US side for consideration during the 11th TTIP negotiation round in Miami on 19 – 23 October. The proposal introduces a new structure dubbed the ‘International Court System’ or ICS, which the Commission claims puts an end to the existing ISDS system. While indeed the ICS proposal contains a number of important reforms of ISDS which go beyond what has already been developed in CETA, none of the 4 qualifiers mentioned by Malmström at the press conference on September 16 can be regarded as truly marking the end of “the old ISDS system”. Here is our analysis of Malmström’s four main considerations. . .

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