By Jim Williams and Madeleine Crozat-Williams
The reports of the Trans-Pacific Partnership’s death have been greatly exaggerated, unfortunately. The corporate news media is now using every opportunity to push the TPP as something better than NAFTA: Not true --TPP would be far worse than NAFTA!
Although proponents of the TPP tout it as a trade agreement, the TPP is mostly NOT about trade! Only six of its 30 chapters (20%) cover trade matters. The other 80% of the chapters cover non-trade details that corporate news will not talk about. The TPP was written by 500 corporate lawyers, corporate advisors, and corporate lobbyists. The TPP is OF corporations, BY corporations, and FOR corporations. The citizens of the world should in no way think that TPP will help “We the People”. Have no doubt about it, the primary purpose for the TPP is to guarantee that foreign and U.S. multinational corporations make a profit.
The statement that the “TPP covers 40 percent of the global economy” is misleading: Six TPP nations counted in the 40 percent are already covered by U.S. free trade pacts. They comprise more than 80 percent of the trade referred to in that 40 percent figure, so new free trade agreements with them are unnecessary. Also, tariff levels in the other countries covered by TPP are already low. Moreover, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio blasts the TPP and says that New York, the third largest port in the U.S and the busiest on the East Coast, does not need the TPP. The TPP is NOT about enhancing trade!
American businesses that in the past have claimed that unregulated market forces should be allowed to determine whether or not they make a profit are now demanding that the U.S. Government and U.S. taxpayers guarantee those profits.
To this end, provisions of the TPP create a private, corporate-run Kangaroo court that empowers corporations to sue TPP governments over environmental, health, consumer, zoning, or any other public policies that the corporations claim are either undermining or diminishing "expected future profits." This elevates thousands of private, profit-seeking entities to the legal status of sovereign nations. Nations that join must conform their laws and rules to TPP's restrictions, effectively supplanting U.S. sovereignty and effectively canceling the people's right to be self-governing.
Think about corporations. The only duty that a corporations has to its stockholders is to make a profit. If corporate actions are bad for the community , that’s OK as long as the corporation makes a profit. We know about pollution. We know about EpiPens. Their outrageously escalated price is now above what normal people, schools, and community service agencies can pay. The lack of an EpiPen may well cause the death of individuals needing one.
Corporations cannot be allowed to be in charge of our government. But, the only way that the TPP will be stopped is if local constituents make every member of Congress publicly state his or her position on the TPP NOW before the upcoming election when being in favor of such an outrage will have a political price. Call your Senate and Congressional Representatives NOW!