In a major victory for the American people, the U.S. House of Representatives stalled a harmful fast-track bill when it voted against Trade Adjustment Assistance, a woefully insufficient program that would have failed to protect workers displaced by trade. This move decimated hopes of completing a package of trade bills last week, and maybe forever, including a “fast-track” bill that would limit congressional authority and oversight over international trade deals like the massive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). But the fight is not over yet, so we must continue to fight to bury fast track once and for all.
Despite the fact that the TPP would impact every aspect of our lives, from the quality of the food we eat to the air we breathe and our ability to protect our climate, all negotiations have been brokered behind closed doors. Since the public is left in the dark and even Congress has limited access to the text, the Sierra Club and other leading environmental groups have opposed the fast-track bill that would strip Congress’s ability to meaningfully evaluate the costs of trade deals on our economy and environment.
“This is a major victory for everyone who thinks trade should be fair and responsible,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club, after the weak Trade Adjustment Assistance bill flopped, and fast track stalled, on June 12.
Past trade deals, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, have taken away hundreds of thousands of American jobs and undermined safeguards on clean air and water. The TPP would be more of the same, but at a much larger scale since it ecompassess 12 nations.
Across the country, Sierra Club staff, members, and volunteers have urged their members to stand with communities and for our environment and oppose fast track for the TPP. That dedication is paying off, but the fight is not over.
“The era of free trade deals that harm workers and the environment is coming to a close,” Brune said. “Now, we must bury fast track and trade deals that threaten our air, water, and climate once and for all, and start fresh to build a new model of trade."
Representatives will continue to face intense pressure from corporate lobbyists who want to pull out all the stops to dictate America's trade policies with their own profits in mind. Clean air, clean water, and climate activists must persist in making it crystal clear to every member of Congress that the people they represent reject a fast-track bill that sacrifices our air and water for corporate profit.
The fight isn’t over yet. Contact your representative now to slam the door shut on fast track, once and for all.