You wouldn't think that the government could keep the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) so secret. Have you ever seen it mentioned in the main stream media? I haven't. It's only in sites like Truthout that you see it discussed. Yet, if the reports are true - and I don't have much reason to think most of them are not - the impact of TPP on our country will be quite significant.
While it has been billed as a trade agreement, only two
of its 26 chapters actually have anything to do with trade. A letter from Congress to United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk
stated, the TPP “will create binding policies on future Congresses in
numerous areas,” including “those related to labor, patent and
copyright, land use, food, agriculture and product standards, natural
resources, the environment, professional licensing, state-owned
enterprises and government procurement policies, as well as financial,
healthcare, energy, telecommunications and other service sector
regulations.”
Foreign corporations operating in the
United States would no longer be subject to our laws regarding
protections for the environment, finance or labor rights. If we try to make the companies comply, they can appeal to an international tribunal made up of lawyers specializing in corporate law. Do you suppose these lawyers would be prejudiced in any way?
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