Here is a new briefing on the TPP from the Congressional Research Service:

[eridani]

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R44278.pdf

This is a key paragraph:

"Through the TPP, the participating countries seek to liberalize trade and investment and establish new rules and disciplines in the region beyond those that already exist in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The FTA is envisioned as a living agreement open to future members and new issues and may become a vehicle to advance a wider Asia-Pacific free trade area. Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Korea have recently indicated their interest in joining the TPP. It is also a U.S. policy response to the rapidly increasing economic and strategic linkages among Asian-Pacific nations and has become the economic centerpiece of the Administration’s “rebalance” toward the region."

I think one area we can educate people about is that the TPP is a 'living document,' which is unique. Not only can new countries join it, but the Trade Commission can change the provisions after it has been agreed to. This is pretty scary.

In his 12 Feb 16 State of the Union Address, President Obama was evidently well aware that his proposed TPP “trade agreement” would create a “firestorm” of criticism if he repeated the whopping big bold-face lies about it that he had previously uttered (i.e. that the TPP won’t affect US laws and that the US would not be subjected to TPP ISDS lawsuits), because he kept his comments regarding the TPP to a very brief 5-sentence paragraph comprised of statements that he seemed to believe would be less controversial. But the statements that he did make were still dishonest many ways. For example, he said,

1. “That's how we forged a Trans-Pacific Partnership to open markets, protect workers and the environment, and advance American leadership in Asia.”

The TPP is designed to “open markets” for multinational corporations only, so that those multinational corporations can use ISDS lawsuits to either replace or wipe out local corporations and businesses. The TPP will also “close markets” by extending patent and copyright protections that would seriously restrict free use the internet and make it a crime to reveal corporate wrongdoing “through a computer system.” [!!] Also, Obama’s claim that the TPP will “protect workers and the environment” is a WHOPPING BIG BOLD-FACED LIE, because the TPP will only allow multinational corporations (and investors) to file ISDS lawsuits against all levels of government for alleged “losses of expected future profits”, not so for workers, and the taxpayers who will ultimately end up paying for the billions of dollars worth of ISDS lawsuit judgments will be mostly workers!

Also, it is worth noting that Chapter 12 of the TPP requires the US to grant visas to all professionals and their families seeking to enter the country for business purposes along with their families to work for a foreign corporation rather than hiring Americans for such jobs.

2. “It cuts 18,000 taxes on products Made in America, and supports more good jobs.”

This is misleading, because the US already has trade agreements with most of those countries which already “cut” such “taxes.” And the “cuts” in “taxes” on American-made products which have already been made though NAFTA, the WTO, and other so-called “trade agreements” have created HUGE (40 billion dollars per month) trade deficits that have seriously indebted the US to China and most of the rest of our trading partners. That’s why Chinese, Japanese, and Saud Arabian millionaires and billionaires have been able to buy up so much of our expensive real estate in the United States. If this keeps up, they will literally “own us!”

3. “With TPP, China doesn't set the rules in that region, we do.”

That is “BS.” I doubt that China would be dumb enough to join the TPP. The fact that the TPP countries will be vulnerable to never-ending ISDS lawsuits by greedy multinational corporations will give China a HUGE economic advantage to compete in those countries without fear of such lawsuits.

4. “You want to show our strength in this century?”

Allowing all three branches and all three levels of our government to be sued by multinational corporations for alleged “losses of expected future profits” will SUCK the strength out of our country rather than making us stronger! The primary purpose of the TPP is to make multinational corporations stronger and more prosperous at the expense of everyone else! These initiatives are examples of “PURE EVIL!” Our national motto is, “In God we Trust”, but multinational corporations literally “have no god but money.” Why should we surrender our government to be controlled by an institution of PURE EVIL?

5. “Approve this agreement. Give us the tools to enforce it.”

This is another one of Obama’s WHOPPING BIG BOLD-FACED LIES. Obama’s TPP/TTIP/TiSA so-called “trade agreements” are in fact TREATIES that require a two thirds majority vote in the US Senate in order to be CONSTITUTIONALLY ratified, because these “agreements” not only mutually cut tariffs, they also establish a governing structure that overrides all three levels of our government and in effect LEVIES TAXES WITHOUT REPRESENTATION (i.e. ISDS lawsuit judgments that US taxpayers must pay). Our Revolutionary War was fought in part to free us from such corporate monetary abuses! But Obama wants to impose such corporate monetary abuses on us again by falsely labeling his proposals as “trade agreements” rather than the TREATIES that the actually are!

According to news reports, President Obama plans to sign the TPP “agreement” on 4 Feb 16, and he will be “authorized” by his UNCONSTITUTIONAL (lacking a two thirds majority vote in the US Senate) “Trade Promotion Authority” to arrange for votes in Congress to implement the TPP anytime after that. Obama clearly wants to sneak TPP passage through Congress as quietly as possible, so the time has come NOW to start “raising holy hell” about Obama’s highly dishonest and destructive efforts to pass such abominations!

Feel free to publish this.
Christopher C. Currie

[GoneFishin]

1. I'd like to see Bernie use his base/infrastructure to raise hell about this now. But I guess if I

were him I would wonder what lies/propaganda would be spun from the effort, and who would be alienated by the disinformation that would be fabricated by prospective TPP jackpot winners.

This is serious shit. The really sad thing is that red state grunts will never know that the 2x4 that hits them in the face was brought to them by right wing policies because Republican politicians will point out for decades to come that is was implemented under Obama (the "liberal" President, pfft).

[Cassiopeia]

2. TPP is the gift that will give endlessly to Republicans.

The Republicans get to pass it as they desperately want, their corporate friends get to reap all the rewards, and when the TPP turns out to be the horrible job exporter Republicans will get to beat Dems over the head with it for decades because Obama did it.

This is the biggest disappointment with Obama.

[GoneFishin]

6. The bones we were thrown and the crumbs that fell on the floor for us weren't worth it.

[pampango]

7. "red state grunts will never know that the 2x4 that hits them in the face". Polls show they already

know enough about TPP. The republican base (red state grunts) oppose it even more than Democrats do.

[randome]

3. You think it's 'scary' that the agreement can be modified?

I thought the primary goal of its opponents was to modify it.

And trying to categorize Obama as 'sneaky' is simply the usual hatred of all things international. The author's bias is showing and it's not pretty.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Precision and concision. That's the game.[/center][/font][hr]

[daybranch]

4. Sneaky or Not, this treaty will become a heavy yoke around the people's neck as we

give up more democracy to the oligarchy. This treaty like NAFTA is an attack on our National Sovereignty, prevrnting our own government from enacting regulations to protect our climate and therefore our people's health. The glaring example of the US being sued over the Keystone pipeline should warn us of engaging in such a treaty which has been dubbed NAFTA on steroids. No matter Obama's method or motivation, this is an egregious gift to the rich who want to control the economies of the world for greed. Heck, he cannot get even Hillary to publicly state she is for it and she supported NAFTA.

[randome]

8. And Canada will likely lose this case, although it's by no means certain.

The long and the short of it is that less political posturing needs to be attached to foreign investments, which overall is a good thing.

Our environmental concerns -any country's- will win out but not if such concerns are applied unequally, discriminating against foreign investors.

The U.S. rarely loses ISDS cases so I'm confident we'll win this one.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]All things in moderation, including moderation.[/center][/font][hr]

[eridani]

9. And it's just wonderful to spend our public funds defending against bullshit like this

NOT!!!

[pampango]

5. Had not seen the Congressional Research Service's analysis of TPP before. Thanks for posting

the link.