America: A Fire Sale to Foreign Corporations

[WhistleBlower]

last week, i posted 'tpp - pro or con?' and it got no response and few views. the trans pacific partnership has a lot of people up in arms and it's getting no coverage in the american press.


Published on Monday, June 25, 2012 by Common Dreams
America: A Fire Sale to Foreign Corporations
by Brian Moench

This maybe one of the most important stories ever ignored by the "lame stream, liberal" media. It’s unlikely you’re losing sleep over US trade negotiations, but the unfolding business agreement between the US and eight Pacific nations --the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- should cause every US citizen, from the Sierra Club to the Tea Party to get their pitch forks and torches out of the closet and prepare to “storm the Bastille.”

The TPP negotiations have been going on for two years under extreme secrecy, no information has been made available to either the press or Congress about the US position. But on June 12th a document was leaked to the watchdog group, Public Citizen, revealing the current US position and the reason for the secrecy. The contents are surreal and shocking, and prima facia evidence for how corporations have become the master puppeteers of our government.

The leaked document reveals that the trade agreement would give unprecedented political authority and legal protection to foreign corporations. Specifically, TPP would (1) severely limit regulation of foreign corporations operating within U.S. boundaries, giving them greater rights than domestic firms, (2) extend incentives for U.S. firms to move investments and jobs to lower-wage countries, (3) establish an alternative legal system that gives foreign corporations and investors new rights to circumvent U.S. courts and laws, allowing them to sue the U.S. government before foreign tribunals and demand compensation for lost revenue due to US laws they claim undermine their TPP privileges or their investment “expectations.”

Despite NAFTA’s failures, corporations are arm-twisting the federal government to pursue trade agreements as inevitable and necessary for economic progress. But 26 of the 28 chapters of this agreement have nothing to do with trade. TPP was drafted with the oversight of 600 representatives of multi-national corporations, who essentially gave themselves whatever they wanted; the environment, public health, worker safety, further domestic job losses be damned.

If you thought that with Citizens United we had hit rock bottom in surrendering our democracy to the power of money, this TPP “trade agreement” would throw our democracy into free fall.

Residents of the West should be particularly alarmed. TPP would allow plunder of our natural resources by foreign corporations allowed to bypass US law. Disputes over Western land contracts for mining and timber for example would be settled by international tribunals. Even If you are oblivious to environmental concerns you should be outraged at the total circumvention of national sovereignty. Foreign investors could bypass our legal framework, take any dispute to an international tribunal and pursue compensation for being denied access to our resources at fire sale prices--and much of the West on fire as we speak.

It gets worse. Those tribunals would be staffed by private sector lawyers that rotate between acting as 'judges' and as advocates for the corporations suing the governments. American taxpayers could be forced to pay those corporations virtually unlimited compensation for trying protect our air, land and water from much looser standards than current US law allows.

This agreement could directly affect efforts in my home state of Utah to hold the international mining giant, Rio Tinto, accountable to the Clean Air Act. A consortium of public health and environmental groups including WildEarth Guardians, Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment, Utah Moms for Clean Air and the Sierra Club have filed suit against Rio Tinto for mining more--and polluting more--than the amount allowed by the EPA via provisions in the Clean Air Act. This agreement would allow disputes about their pollution to be settled by foreign ‘judges’ who don’t live in Utah, aren't personally affected by the outcome, aren’t even US citizens, and could be attorneys for mining companies. Talk about putting the fox in charge of the chickens.

The original TPP nations were the U.S., Australia, Peru, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, and Brunei Darussalam. But Mexico, China, Japan, and Canada are expected to be invited to join so there is no comfort to be derived from the thought that only a few minor, foreign corporations will be given these extraordinary free passes to profit at our expense. Of course American corporations will get the same opportunity to "invade" other countries, as if that makes this agreement any less grotesque.

TPP is much worse than NAFTA, that eviscerated middle class jobs and wealth in the US. And this sell out to foreign corporations is not just a rogue brain cramp of President Obama. Mitt Romney demanded this agreement be signed months ago, and the notorious “climate change denying” US Chamber of Commerce can’t get it signed fast enough. Romney has called Obama’s the most hostile Administration to business ever. If the TPP trade agreement is “hostile” to business, god help us if we have an Administration, presumably Romney’s, “friendly” to business.

If you thought that with Citizens United we had hit rock bottom in surrendering our democracy to the power of money, this TPP “trade agreement” would throw our democracy into free fall. Foreign corporations will be allowed to feast upon America’s natural resources, trash our environment and public health, violate our rights as American citizens and make us pay them if we try to protect ourselves. Could this really happen? Go to http://www.citizen.org/tpp, learn more and get involved.
Brian Moench

Dr. Brian Moench is President of Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He can be reached at: drmoench@yahoo.com

 

[gabriel]

nice to see that foreigners will finally be able to rape america like she has raped them! karma's grand aint it!!

 

[GordonGecko]

Tea Party won't complain....they're a fully-owned subsidiary of the Republican Party and they just picked a guy who LIKES people "buying up stuff and cashing in on its destruction".

 

[WhistleBlower]

funny somebody who is accused of fleeing to canada to avoid the draft is talking about karma.

cassius clay resisted the draft in an honorable way and did the jail time. the people who ran to canada were cowards and didn't have the strength of their convictions to stand against the unjust war with the rest of us.

 

[gabriel]

accused?? lol !! so tell us , junior, what prison did they put you in for your resistance??

 

[WhistleBlower]

none. i volunteered twice. in 1973 and 1978 but the navy and i couldn't come to terms because they couldn't give me the job i wanted and i wasn't going to accept a combatant billet. the men in my family don't kill things. we're builders and healers.

you?

 

[gabriel]

lol! so you were bravely standing against an unjust war AFTER the draft was ended!! hahahaahahaha now that is real heroic!!

 

[WhistleBlower]

i was involved with anti-war activities as early as 1966 and the draft hadn't ended when i volunteered the first time, though the draft ending was part of the reason i didn't accept that contract. i decided it would be better to have a degree and go directly to OCS.

so tell us about yourself? i'm guessing that what was alleged is true from the way you're avoiding the subject now.

 

[gabriel]

anti war activities from a kid who wasnt eligible for the draft till 1973! wow! what bravery!! lol

 

[WhistleBlower]

anti war activities from a kid who wasnt eligible for the draft till 1973! wow! what bravery!! lol

you're ducking the question, angry, cowardly old man.

i happen to have quite a track record standing against war and injustice in the country of my birth. what have you done besides run to canada, buy a computer and spew a lot of angry nonsense?

 

[gabriel]

run to canada?? you must have me confused with one of your brave high school buddies little fella. i was havin too much fun livin the life in america, workin the jobs your pals were too undereducated to do!! lol

 

[WhistleBlower]

i don't know anybody who ran off to canada nor do i think i've ever met a man so arrogantly ignorant and proud of it before.

you realize that somebody who calls everybody things like little man and junior is projecting some very serious self esteem denial issues when he does that, don't you?

 

[gabriel]

i know lots of guys that did. and they all did real well here and became real assets to our community. we sure were lucky your country didnt recognize their value!! and doubly lucky we didnt get a bunch of wet behind the ears high scool kids who figured they were war resistors from the comfort of ineligibility. say, were YOU one of them, LITTLE FELLA? lol

 

[WhistleBlower]

so much self-loathing you project outward. you're pitiful, old man. i'll bet you'd just love to punch me, too, wouldn't you?

 

[gabriel]

punch you?? lol. certainly not! its far more fun raising your blood pressure! lol

 

[WhistleBlower]

punch you?? lol. certainly not! its far more fun raising your blood pressure! lol

nobody does that. you've got my body chemistry and emotions confused with your own.

so you're admitting here that you are deliberately trying to annoy me? is that something protected by the TOS?

 

[gabriel]

nope. i just post, if you choose to read them, thats your business. pm dave and ask him where the ignore button if things get too much for ya.

 

[WhistleBlower]

most places i've been would call somebody like you a post whore.



what do they call you here besides a pest?


the best way i know to deal with a bilious bozo such as yourself is to return to the topic.


Public Citizen’s Lori Wallach has an analysis of that leaked document from the negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and it’s really even worse than anticipated.

The leaked text provides stark warnings about the dangers of “trade” negotiations occurring without press, public or policymaker oversight. It reveals that negotiators already have agreed to many radical terms granting expansive new rights and privileges for foreign investors and their private corporate enforcement through extra-judicial “investor-state” tribunals.

Although TPP has been branded as a “trade” agreement, the leaked text shows that TPP would limit how signatory countries may regulate foreign firms operating within their boundaries, with requirements to provide them greater rights than domestic firms. The leaked text reveals a two-track legal system, with foreign firms empowered to skirt domestic courts and laws to directly sue TPP governments in foreign tribunals. There they can demand compensation for domestic financial, health, environmental, land use laws and other laws they claim undermine their new TPP privileges.

The leak also reveals that all countries involved in TPP talks – except Australia – have agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of such foreign tribunals, which would be empowered to order payment of unlimited government Treasury funds to foreign investors over TPP claims.

 

[gabriel]

pretty much what nafta does now. well its nice to see america wont be alone in the catbird seat anymore! the price they have to pay in order not to be left behind the rest of the world! perhaps they shud go ask britain how to cope with not bein the big bully on the block anymore!! lol

 

[WhistleBlower]

there's a fair sized faction demanding that TPP be dumped altogether. congress and human rights watch groups are getting upset about the secrecy surrounding the talks and the provisions look very bad for what's left of the SMB privately held american business sector.

Trans-Pacific Partnership Talks: Senators Demand Access To Controversial Documents After Leak

Posted: 06/25/2012 1:56 pm Updated: 06/25/2012 2:37 pm



WASHINGTON -- Four senators sent a letter to the Obama administration on Monday asking for greater congressional access to negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a controversial proposed free trade agreement that remains shrouded in secrecy.

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) signed the letter, which asks that congressional offices be given access to draft negotiations among the United States and eight other Pacific nations. The four senators also asked that nonprofit groups advocating "Internet freedom" policies be given access to the documents.

The secrecy surrounding the Trans-Pacific deal has sparked a great deal of consternation among public health advocates, consumer groups and members of Congress. More than 600 representatives of corporations are able to view draft versions of the deal because of their positions on government advisory boards, while only a handful of nonprofit groups have the same privilege. Members of such boards are not permitted to share information about the documents with the public. Staff members from both Republican and Democratic congressional offices have also been denied access to the documents.

"Groups essential to the success and legitimacy of any agreements are not being provided the opportunity to provide meaningful input on negotiations that have broad policy ramifications," the senators wrote on Monday. "If Congress and the broader public are not informed of the exact terms of the agreement until the conclusion of the process, then the opportunity for meaningful input is lost. The lack of transparency and input makes passage of trade agreements more contentious and controversial."

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative was not immediately available for comment, but has previously stated that issues of trade talk transparency are "important" and pledged to work with critics in Congress.

In May, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, leaked the entire draft intellectual property chapter of the deal on his website in order to highlight concerns raised by technology companies and protest the lack of access granted to congressional offices and nonprofit groups. The chapter had previously been available on the Internet through legally ambiguous channels.

Wyden raised the stakes in late May by introducing legislation that would require the Obama administration to share key trade documents with members of Congress and top staffers. The bill is generally viewed as a symbolic act of protest, and Wyden's office argues that its major provisions are already on the books. Both Issa and Wyden have strong relationships with Internet freedom advocacy groups and Silicon Valley companies through their opposition to the proposed House bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act and its Senate companion, the Protect IP Act.

United Nations organizations and public health advocates have also taken issue with the positions advocated by the Obama administration in the intellectual property chapter, arguing that new patent rules included in the text would raise the price of life-saving medicine in developing countries. USTR has said it will work with nations involved in the Trans-Pacific talks to ensure that access to such drugs is maintained.

In mid-June, another draft chapter of the Trans-Pacific deal was leaked, revealing administration plans to grant corporations broad new powers to challenge a variety of domestic regulations before international tribunals.

The full text of the letter to Ron Kirk, the U.S. trade representative, is below:

Dear Ambassador Kirk:

We write regarding the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, a regional free trade agreement proposal touted as a model for all future U.S. trade and investment agreements. We are concerned that this process has excluded both Members of Congress and key stakeholders. As a result, groups essential to the success and legitimacy of any agreements are not being provided the opportunity to provide meaningful input on negotiations that have broad policy ramifications.

In the past, most U.S. trade agreement texts have not been made available until after they were signed. As a result, changes were all but impossible. If Congress and the broader public are not informed of the exact terms of the agreement until the conclusion of the process, then the opportunity for meaningful input is lost. The lack of transparency and input makes passage of trade agreements more contentious and controversial.

Extensive consultations with Congress and stakeholders are essential because of the unprecedented scope of these negotiations. Indeed, the negotiations USTR is pursuing will create binding policies on future Congresses in numerous areas where there is significant public interest, including policies related to labor, environment and natural resources, land use, food, agriculture and product standards, intellectual property rights, state-owned enterprises and government procurement policies, as well as financial, healthcare, energy, telecommunications and other service sector regulations. In an effort to ensure full public disclosure and consultation, we request that the USTR provide the public with detailed information and consistent updates on what USTR is seeking in the TPP on these matters of broad public interest.

One additional area of concern is copyrights. The significant concerns that bills like Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA) met from the public, underscore how unsettling such matters can become without a broad consultative process. The copyright language in the TPP may not mirror the approach of SOPA and PIPA, but due to the secrecy surrounding the TPP there is no guarantee that it will not. Since the terms will only be made public after an agreement is signed, the stakes are too high to exclude important stakeholders and Congress from the negotiation process.

Therefore, we request that you expand the consultation process by broadening the scope of the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) for Intellectual Property Rights to include key stakeholders advocating for internet freedom as well as right-holders. A separate committee to address these concerns should be given consideration as well.

We believe these recommendations would demonstrate a commitment to this Administration’s goals of making the federal government more transparent and responsive. We look forward to discussing these issues with you.

Sincerely,

Sherrod Brown, U.S. Senator
Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator
Jeff Merkley, U.S. Senator
Robert Menendez, U.S. Senator