New Report on Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Deal Raises Serious Concerns--

[eridani]

--about Corporate Misalignment

http://www.flushthetpp.org/tag/democracy/

Our new report finds that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the mega-regional trade deal, raises serious concerns about how a world economy reregulated to suit corporate interests would undermine public accountability, transparency, and democratic participation. Co-authored by our Director john a. powell and Global Justice Program researchers Elsadig Elsheikh and Hossein Ayazi, our analysis underscores how the TPP would grant greater transnational corporate influence over the fate of one third of all world trade, with TPP signatory members producing 40 percent of all global economic output.

The TPP’s nuanced provisions will give corporations the power to evade environmental regulations, bypass national courts and override governments, and control workers’ movements throughout the TPP countries.

http://haasinstitute.berkeley.edu/sites/default/file/haasinstitute_transpacificpartnership_publish_mar2016_0.pdf

MEDIA CONTACT
Rachelle Galloway-Popotas
Communications & Media Manager
Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society
University of California, Berkeley
Telephone: [phone]

[pampango]

1. Krugman: "The case for TPP is very, very weak. ... if a progressive makes it to the White House,

he or she should devote no political capital whatsoever to such things."

A Protectionist Moment?

Furthermore, as Mark Kleiman sagely observes, the conventional case for trade liberalization relies on the assertion that the government could redistribute income to ensure that everyone wins — but we now have an ideology utterly opposed to such redistribution in full control of one party, and with blocking power against anything but a minor move in that direction by the other.

But it’s also true that much of the elite defense of globalization is basically dishonest: false claims of inevitability, scare tactics (protectionism causes depressions!), vastly exaggerated claims for the benefits of trade liberalization ... I’ve always been clear that the gains from globalization aren’t all that great ... less than 5 percent of world GDP over a generation.

The truth is that if Sanders were to make it to the White House, he would find it very hard to do anything much about globalization — not because it’s technically or economically impossible, but because the moment he looked into actually tearing up existing trade agreements the diplomatic, foreign-policy costs would be overwhelmingly obvious. ... Trump might actually do it, but only as part of a reign of destruction on many fronts.

But it is fair to say that the case for more trade agreements — including TPP, which hasn’t happened yet — is very, very weak. And if a progressive makes it to the White House, he or she should devote no political capital whatsoever to such things.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/09/a-protectionist-moment/?_r=0

Krugman makes a valid point. Before FDR liberalized trade, he achieved progressive taxes, strong union legislation, tighter business regulation and a more effective safety net. He made sure that "the government could redistribute income to ensure that everyone wins" THEN he liberalized trade.

The idea that limiting trade - like Trump and others want to do - or expanding trade - like Obama and others want to do - will solve the economic problems of the middle class without solving our fundamental problems of regressive taxes, weak unions, deregulation and a shattered safety net would make FDR laugh.