General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsNot only will Obama's TPP make you and your family poorer, it will make you more unsafe
That is because, at corporate lobbyists' request, it will weaken international environmental protections:
http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/16/tpp-wikileaked-us-watering-down-enviro-protections-in-secret-trade-deal/
TPP Wikileaked: US Watering Down Enviro Protections in Secret Trade Deal
January 16, 2014
by John Light
Another chapter in the tale of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) a secret international trade deal being pushed by the Obama administration and described by critics as NAFTA on steroids has once again been Wikileaked. This one deals with the environment, and it shows that, by and large, the US is caving on environmental standards it had previously set for international trade agreements.
Environmental groups say the protections that are included in the document are weak and, furthermore, that the pact contains no enforcement mechanisms. This breaks with recent precedent in 2007, Bush reached an agreement with congressional Democrats that required environmental provisions in trade agreements to be legally binding.
The lack of fully-enforceable environmental safeguards means negotiators are allowing a unique opportunity to protect wildlife and support legal sustainable trade of renewable resources to slip through their fingers, said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. These nations account for more than a quarter of global trade in fish and wood products and they have a responsibility to address trades impact on wildlife crime, illegal logging and overfishing.
...
The administration has billed the environmental chapter of TPP as a counter to the agreements extensive corporate privileges, but after reading the newly leaked document, environmental groups said it would be ineffectual. If the environment chapter is finalized as written in this leaked document, President Obamas environmental trade record would be worse than George W. Bushs, said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. This draft chapter falls flat on every single one of our issues oceans, fish, wildlife and forest protections and in fact, rolls back the progress made in past trade pacts.
pa28
(6,145 posts)It seems to me that K street has found a back door to accomplish all of their goals in one shot through "trade" agreements like TPP.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)Now, if we are trying to impose our beliefs on another country, I'd have to look at the other country's environmental laws. For the most part, I'm not sure we should be imposing our laws/beliefs on other countries, at least ones that aren't into slave labor, uncontrolled environmental emissions, etc. Incentives perhaps, but not outright forcing our laws/beliefs on other countries. Heck, some other countries are far superior to us.
cali
(114,904 posts)it's an unfetter-corporations-from-laws-and-regulations agreement- as far as we can tell from the leaked chapters and from who and how its been crafted.
There's vanishingly little about tariffs and other matters of trade.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)I'm seriously trying to find some examples of why this is an attempt by our overlords to screw us. But so far, everyone only says it does, but with no examples.
cali
(114,904 posts)for them. type in Cali tpp in search right here. I have dozens- if not hundreds- of posts with links to such sites as EFF. do a search on google.
delrem
(9,688 posts)Esp. if it goes "fast track".
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)anything but the elimination of the last vestiges of an illusion of consent of the governed.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Oh come on, you know someone's going to say it seriously shortly.
Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)They frequently throw these pieces of shit against that wall there to pre-check the smell/laughter test.
polichick
(37,152 posts)off the op title? Why insult the president?
90-percent
(6,834 posts)600 corporations are crafting this.
Their creation is secret. It has been classified as such by our government.
Select Congressmen may look at it, but cannot take notes or make copies. Because it's classified, those that have seen it can be punished by law if they share what they read to ANYBODY!
America is now ruled by shameless greedy pigs and those psycho's sure as hell want more for them and less for you.
We are all corporate serfs now. It's like they are trying to insult what's left of our former democracy as blatantly as possible! You little people will accept the scraps we allow you and like it! We know better than you because we're wealthy!!!
-90% Jimmy
pampango
(24,692 posts)But many of those proposals are opposed by most or all of the other Pacific Rim nations working on the deal, including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and Peru. Developing Asian countries, in particular, have long resisted outside efforts to enforce strong environmental controls, arguing that they could hurt their growing economies.
The report appears to indicate that the United States is losing many of those fights, and bluntly notes the rifts: While the chair sought to accommodate all the concerns and red lines that were identified by parties regarding the issues in the text, many of the red lines for some parties were in direct opposition to the red lines expressed by other parties.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/15/us/politics/administration-is-seen-as-retreating-on-environment-in-talks-on-pacific-trade.html