Back in March, Wikileaks got a hold of an advanced draft of the TPP and leaked it. Today, the organization has done it again.
On its website:
WikiLeaks releases today 17 secret documents from the ongoing TISA (Trade In Services Agreement) negotiations which cover the United States, the European Union and 23 other countries including Turkey, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Taiwan & Israel -- which together comprise two-thirds of global GDP. "Services" now account for nearly 80 per cent of the US and EU economies and even in developing countries like Pakistan account for 53 per cent of the economy. While the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has become well known in recent months in the United States, the TISA is the larger component of the strategic TPP-TISA-TTIP 'T-treaty trinity'. All parts of the trinity notably exclude the 'BRICS' countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The release coincides with TISA meetings at the ministerial level at the OECD in Paris today (3–5 June). The 'T-treaty trinity' of TPP-TISA-TTIP is also under consideration for collective 'Fast-Track' authority in Congress this month.
The TISA release today follows the WikiLeaks publication of the secret draft financial services annex of the TISA negotiations on 19 June 2014 showing the aim to further deregulate the financial sector, despite widespread consensus that lack of oversight and regulation was the main cause of the last global financial crisis of 2008. Today's release confirms the ongoing determination to deregulate. Furthermore, standstill clauses will tie the hands of future governments to implement changes in response to changing environment.
Today's release is the largest on secret TISA documents and covers numerous previously undisclosed areas. It contains drafts and annexes on issues such as air traffic, maritime, professional services, e-commerce, delivery services, transparency, domestic regulation, as well as several document on the positions of negotiating parties. WikiLeaks has also published detailed expert analysis of the topics covered in today's release.
I am reading through this now to try to understand some of the specifics.
This analysis makes an important point regarding the Financial Services aspect of the documents:
The consequence of this standstill clause is that in the future it will be difficult if not impossible to impose more restrictive regulations for the financial sector. However, the financial crises have taught us that future developments and little known innovations in the financial services sector can cause dangers to the financial system and society, and these might require new restrictive measures that can now not be foreseen. In fact, there are still financial reforms that need to be enacted as promised after the most recent financial crisis and after new scandals in the financial sector have been discovered, indicating that legislators and regulators still need full room of manoeuvre to regulate the financial sector.
So, I'm guessing this will be used to undermine Dodd-Frank implementation or block any attempt to strengthen or broaden Dodd-Frank like legislation in the future (i.e., the argument "oh, you can't pass that because it violates TPP")
One other thing that caught my eye is the issue of the broad philosophy of regulation: the assumption you start with is pretty important. And it appears that there will be an attempt to continue what has been a gigantic failure--the presumption that essentially you give the benefit of the doubt to the market. In trade parlance:
1. Governments must ensure their chosen measure is not more burdensome than necessary to ensure the quality of the service.
least-burdensome’ means that decisions start by considering no regulation or self-regulation, then co-regulation that relies on private mechanisms, disclosure and external monitoring, with an active regulator as the last resort.
That is a very, very slippery slope. This is what gave us a fucked up environment, massive injury and death in the workplace, poor food safety and on and on...the presumption is "oh, don't regulate". Wikileaks is correct:
Removing the ability of governments to give primacy to social and environmental goals would exacerbate social inequalities and deprivation. Moreover, many South countries have weak regulatory regimes, or are trying to remedy failed market models and privatisations, including in health, water, and infrastructure. Restricting authorisation fees tocost-recovery would deny a vital source of revenue.
If you want to know how this could break every regulation on behalf of the people, it will be through the crush of challenges. Here's how it's worded, and this has been removed to be discussed as something put in the "core text":
Each Party shall maintain judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures which provide, at the request of an affected service supplier, for the prompt review of, and where justified, appropriate remedies for, administrative decisions affecting trade in services. Where such procedures are not independent of the agency entrusted with the administrative decision concerned, the Party shall ensure that the procedures in fact provide for an objective and impartial review.
Essentially, this
**could** set up up a requirement, in my opinion, a whole set of procedures to challenge everything that comes under "trade"...Imagine this scenario: this becomes the standard operating procedure, the Koch Brothers set up an institute, funded with $200 million, staffed with corporate attorneys who basically barrage and attack every regulation in a new regime under TPP. Where would the money come to protect those regulations in the public interest?
From president of Communications Workers of America Larry Cohen (who, as an aside, is about to step down as president to be replaced by Chris Shelton from the union's District 1 headquartered in NYC):
"Once again wikileaks reveals what we cannot learn from our own government, a government that defaults to prefer giant trade deals that effect generations of Americans shrouded in secrecy until they are virtually adopted. Today's leaks of TISA (trade in services) text reveal once again how dangerous Fast Tack Authority is when it comes to protecting citizen rights vs. corporate rights. This TISA text again favors privatization over public services, limits governmental action on issues ranging from safety to the environment using trade as a smokescreen to limit citizen rights. Those in the US Congress considering Fast Track should take heed. TISA is as big a blow to our rights and freedom as the Trans Pacific Partnership and in both cases our governments secrecy is the key enabler."
Btw, anticipating certainly a public statement from the van crisscrossing America, stopping to talk to real people, in between bites of Chipotle, something like:
I believe in trade. And in parents talking to babies much more, as I've said. I will look at this and make sure that my 200-person team poll-tests what my response should be. But be assured I care about workers, and the environment, and, of course, babies, especially since I became a grandmother [cue picture of baby].