Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Activists say U.S. is trying to railroad secret talks at Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/08/activists-say-u-s-is-trying-to-railroad-secret-talks-at-trans-pacific-partnership-tpp-meeting/
Activists say U.S. is trying to railroad secret talks at Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting
By Agence France-Presse
Sunday, December 8, 2013 10:07 EST
Activists accused the United States on Sunday of trying to railroad a new Pacific trade pact with 11 partners as their trade ministers entered a second day of secretive talks.
The meetings, due to end Tuesday, are a last-gasp attempt to meet a year-end US deadline to forge a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would cover 40 percent of the world’s economy even though it currently excludes China.
International activists opposed to the TPP — and corporate lobbyists including those supporting the pact — have also descended on Singapore to try to push their cases.
“The TPP, which is being negotiated behind closed doors by trade bureaucrats and nearly 600 corporate lobbyists, has provoked political uproar because its text has been kept secret from lawmakers in the countries it covers,” global advocacy group Avaaz said in a statement.