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UN Experts Say TPP & Fast Track Threaten Human Rights

May 8, 2015 Maira Sutton, www.eff.org , ,
Last week, an independent UN expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Alfred de Zayas, said that the secrecy surrounding trade negotiations is a threat to human rights because it disenfranchises and excludes the public from "the right and opportunity to take part in the conduct of public affairs." He urges human rights impact assessments be undertaken immediately as part of the negotiation process, and goes on to say that fast tracking these deals to approval has a detrimental impact on a democratic, equitable world order. We agree, and have been fighting Fast Track legislation in the U.S. to stop back-room negotiations that led to the TPP's provisions become legitimized by the bill's passage. In his statements, he particularly singles out trade agreements' investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions.

The TPP Threatens A Free And Open Internet

May 8, 2015 Sean Nevins, www.mintpressnews.com , , , ,
Legislation to “fast track” the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has moved through both committees in the House and the Senate. This legislation, which would enable President Barack Obama to negotiate the terms of the international agreement without congressional input, is now on the floor of the House. While the TPP has come under increasing scrutiny for its potential to erode the sovereignty of countries, an often overlooked aspect of the treaty is its threat to a free and open Internet. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership is pushing the worst parts of U.S. copyright policy on the rest of the world without expanding protections for fair use,” said Evan Greer, campaign manager with Fight for the Future, an organization dedicated to protecting Internet freedoms.

Obama Misleads His Base On Fast Track For The TPP

May 6, 2015 Jon Schwarz, www.firstlook.org , , ,
So you can imagine how members of Organizing for Action, or OFA, felt when they got email on Friday telling them about a super new “Trade Promotion Authority” bill. Passage of the Trade Promotion Authority, better known as “fast track,” would pave the way for the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty, or TPP, which includes a grab-bag of things the Democratic base absolutely loathes. It would raise the cost of prescription drugs, give Obama an environmental trade record “worse than George Bush’s,” create a special legal system for multinational corporations to killany domestic law that hurts profits, and much more.

Act Out! Episode 9 – #FreddieGray, TPP, Justice League & Paul Revere

May 1, 2015 Occupy, www.Occupy.org , , ,
Spring is rising and so are the people. We cover the latest from the front lines, starting with the fight against TPP and Fast Track featuring Bernie Sanders and a giant horse. Marchers from NYC arrive in DC calling for racial justice, and a push to end police violence and stop the militarization of our cops - the same week that Freddie Gray dies from injuries sustained during a police encounter. Striking at the root of systemic evil, Paul Revere takes his horse down to a GOP convention to decry corruption and we give you the upcoming events to watch out for and where to look. Finally, even a drunk guy can affect change. Small acts people, small acts. @ActOutOnOccupy

Faith & Global Poverty Groups Criticize TPP On Fair Global Dvlpment

May 1, 2015 Oxfam, www.oxfamamerica.org , , , ,
“Trade can indeed spur economic growth and poverty reduction, but only if the rules actually benefit those at the lower end of the development ladder,” said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America. “Although it is being negotiated in secret, what we currently know about the TPP lines up the trade deal to do exactly the opposite.” In a letter to Congress, Oxfam joined a number of faith and development organizations, including ActionAid USA, Health Alliance International, American Jewish World Service, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), , and NETWORK – a National Catholic Social Justice Lobby to urge for a change in course away from the current design of TPP and the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill in order for US trade policy to truly serve development outcomes and reduce global poverty.

Indicting The TPP: Even One Count Is Enough To Kill It

April 30, 2015 Joe Firestone, www.neweconomicperspectives.org , ,
The governing functions of the TPP regime would not be exercised with the consent of the governed. The combination of the vague definition of “investment,” the ISDS criminogenic tribunals, and the elevation of the principle of “expectation of profits” above the principles of “public purpose,” “consent of the governed,” and “separation of powers,” is tantamount to the overthrow of democracy, preserving its form in national level elections, but emptying its elections of meaningful content in mandating change and conferring legitimacy on national authorities. And, further, the ISDS tribunals if in operation, would not exercise just powers, but only illegitimate power derived from the TPP agreement itself, negotiated in secret, passed without benefit of open debate based on the secret text of the TPP, and intended to remain secret for years after the TPP is signed.

Trojan Horse Highlights Opposition To Fast Track Of Secret Deal

April 29, 2015 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org , ,
Opponents of fast track trade authority from Popular Resistance, Public Citizen and Friends of the Earth rallied on Capitol Hill to welcome Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe as he came to speak to a Joint Session of Congress with a three story tall Trojan Horse. The theme of the protest was 'No Fast Track for Secret Corporate Trade Deals'. Banners read "No Fast Track for Secret Trojan Treaties" and "Stop the TPP: Transparency Release the Text." There were also signs in Japanese which said: “U.S. citizens stand in solidarity with Japanese citizens against the TPP” and “TPP = Trojan Horse”Fast Track Trojan Horse 3 The Trojan Horse protest was part of opposition to fast track which is growing and escalating its actions. The escalation among opponents is coming at a time when the Republican leadership is admitting it does not have the votes to pass fast track and Republican senators are beginning to come out against fast track.

NYC Council Unanimously Opposes Fast Track For TPP

April 29, 2015 Marc Bussanich, www.citylimits.org , , ,
Councilmember Helen Rosenthal warned in a video interview on Monday that if President Barack Obama signs the Trans-Pacific Partnership it could very well jeopardize recent city laws that protect working people and the environment. Rosenthal led a rally on City Hall’s steps to protest the mammoth trade agreement being pursued by the United States and 11 other countries. She then held a hearing on a resolution she’s introduced to make New York City a "TPP-Free Zone." She acknowledged it’s just a symbolic gesture, but important nonetheless to introduce because the TPP could potentially lead to job losses and the rollback of key legislation.

2,009 Orgs Call On Congress To Oppose Fast Track Authority For TPP

April 28, 2015 CTC, www.citizenstrade.org , ,
An unprecedentedly united movement of labor, environmental, family farm, consumer, faith, Internet freedom and other organizations escalated their campaign to defeat Fast Track trade authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) today with a joint 2,009-group letter urging Congress to oppose it. As the TPP text leaks revealed that the pact replicates and expands on the most damaging provisions of past U.S. trade pacts, thousands of organizations nationwide have educated their members about the TPP’s threats to American jobs and wages, food safety, affordable medicines, the environment, financial stability and more.

NY City Council Considers Fast Track For The TPP

April 28, 2015 Jilian Jorgensen, www.observer.com , ,
The New York City Council may not get an actual vote on the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership—but today members and other activists rallied for the passage of a resolution urging Congress to shoot down what they deemed a job-killing deal that would wreck the environment. “Let’s be honest: TPP is bad for people. TPP is bad for the environment. TPP Is bad for democracy. Let’s be honest, it’s kind of the most dastardly and evil thing you can imagine,” Josh Fox, the filmmaker behind the anti-fracking documentary Gasland, said at a rally on the City Hall steps this afternoon.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership & The Death Of The Republic

April 27, 2015 Ellen Brown, www.opednews.com , ,
A republican form of government is one in which power resides in elected officials representing the citizens, and government leaders exercise power according to the rule of law. In The Federalist Papers, James Madison defined a republic as "a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people . . . ." On April 22, 2015, the Senate Finance Committee approved a bill to fast-track the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a massive trade agreement that would override our republican form of government and hand judicial and legislative authority to a foreign three-person panel of corporate lawyers. The secretive TPP is an agreement with Mexico, Canada, Japan, Singapore and seven other countries that affects 40% of global markets.

Warren Tells Obama To Put Up Or Shut Up

April 27, 2015 Zach Carter, www.huffingtonpost.com , , ,
On Saturday, Warren and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) responded with a letter essentially telling Obama to put up or shut up. If the deal is so great, Warren and Brown wrote, the administration should make the full negotiation texts public before Congress votes on a "fast track" bill that would strip the legislative branch of its authority to amend it. "Members of Congress should be able to discuss the agreement with our constituents and to participate in a robust public debate, instead of being muzzled by classification rules," Warren and Brown wrote in the letter obtained by The Huffington Post. Democrats and some Republican critics have been particularly frustrated by Obama's decision to treat the TPP documents as classified information, which prevents them from responding to Obama's claims about the pact in detail.

Newsletter: The Moment Has Arrived, Now Is The Time

April 25, 2015 Margaret Flowers and Kevin Zeese, www.popularresistance.org , , , , , , , ,
After a more than three year campaign, the moment has arrived, now is the time. We are at the key battleground that will determine whether the TPP and other corporate trade agreements will become law. Fast track trade authority, as expected, passed the two committees of jurisdiction in the House and Senate. The next step is where we have always expected we could stop them, the full US House of Representatives. We must maintain our pressure on them to vote “No” on fast track. We urge you to continue to call your member frequently. You can use www.StopFastTrack.com to do that. And we urge you to organize actions in your local district during the next recess from May 2 to 11. This is a critical recess, if our support grows during the recess, it is unlikely they will be able to achieve majority support. Join the next weekly National Fast Track Resistance call on Wednesday, April 29 at 9 pm EDT/6 pm Pacific.

U.S. Cities Fight Back Against Washington’s Secretive Trade Deal

April 25, 2015 Dana Liebelson, www.huffingtonpost.com , , ,
As the trade debate heats up in Washington, city councils are fighting back against controversial legislation that would grant the president the authority to fast-track international trade deals without congressional amendments. On the Hill, lawmakers are pushing full steam ahead on legislation the Obama administration is seeking in order to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal with Asian-Pacific countries. Some Democrats don't support the deal, arguing that certain trade provisions are worrisome and haven't received enough scrutiny. Nonetheless, a key Senate committee moved the bill forward on Wednesday. Across the country, city officials are making their own concerns about the legislation crystal clear. This week, San Francisco adopted a resolution opposing fast-track, following similar efforts in other cities, including Seattle and Bellingham, Washington and Fort Bragg and Richmond, California.

Obama, Corporate “Free Traitors” And You!

April 25, 2015 Ralph Nader, www.blog.nader.org ,
The pro-big business President Barack Obama and his corporate allies are starting their campaign to manipulate and pressure Congress to ram through the “pull-down-on-America” Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade and foreign investment treaty between twelve nations (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam). The first skirmish is a fast track bill to have Congress formally strip itself of its constitutional authority to regulate trade and surrender this historic responsibility to the White House and its corporate lobbies. Lest you think the TPP is too commercially complex to bother about, think again.
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