While we are distracted with the possibility of another war and the global climate making the earth uninhabitable for future generations, we can be excused for not paying attention to ongoing secret negotiations for a
global treaty which could have an effect on our everyday lives and negatively impact our environment even further.
I'm talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) which the U.S. is currently negotiating with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam..
The Sierra Club and a diverse coalition of allies are concerned about the lack of transparency in the TPP negotiations and what that secrecy means. They feel that the secret discussions taking place on the trade deal undermines not only our environmental goals, but also our hopes for working people, family farmers and the potential for sustainable development. They see potential threats with the treaty including:
1) It would allow corporations to sue a government over virtually any law or regulation that a corporation argues is hurting its profits.
2) It would allow a significant increase in liquefied natural gas exports from the U.S., leading to a massive increase in fracking.
3) It would allow a rollback of consumer rights.
4) It would threaten workers' rights by giving foreign corporations greater rights than domestic ones, thereby encouraging U.S. companies to move their operations overseas.
Ilana Solomon, the Sierra Club's trade representative, has this to say :
"It's unacceptable because not a single word of draft text has been released to the public, despite the fact that the agreement has been under negotiation for more than three years and would affect the lives of millions of Americans and others across the globe. It seems impossible because so many critical issues in the pact remain unresolved going into this 'final' round."
Sounds like a disaster in the making. Here's what workers have to say in this video prepared by the AFL-CIO and other international labor allies:
Take Action: Tell U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman about your TPP concerns
Comments also accepted here until 9/25
