from Felicia Bruce
Letter to the Editor, Thursday, February 13, 2014:
Secretive Trade Agreement Needs Congressional Oversight
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, also known as the TPP, is a
proposed agreement between the United States and 12 multinational corporations
doing business in the Pacific Rim. For five years, 600 corporate trade advisers
and industry trade associations have had unfiltered access to the working
texts. But every word has been kept secret from the public.
Now Congress is faced with a choice: Fast track the trade
agreement, which would limit debate and exclude amendments, or refuse to fast
track it, thus allowing public scrutiny and Congress’ constitutional oversight
of foreign trade.
Twenty years after all the promises of the North American
Free Trade Agreement have been broken, we have seen how bad these deals can be
for the American worker and economy.
This trade agreement has been described as NAFTA on
steroids. Among its travesties: It may swap democracy for corporate rule by
relinquishing our right to regulate within our own borders and it would
subordinate U.S. law to the decisions of a global business tribunal. It would
also create special protections and remove any remaining global barriers for
“too big to fail” banks, potentially making the activities of some community
banks illegal.
The net effect would also be to encourage U.S. companies to
offshore more American jobs and lower wages.
As if all that was not enough bad news, it would also exempt
foreign companies from environmental regulations and affect consumer
protections for food safety. Leaked terms further reveal provisions for
encouraging fracking and drilling and allowing corporations to sue governments
that “inhibit” profits.
Luckily, two of our own elected officials, congressmen Alan
Grayson and Patrick Murphy, are opposed to fast-tracking this deal and favor
bringing its details into the light of day. They need to know you support them
and oppose the TPP.
