Most Americans have barely heard of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the gargantuan trade deal involving 12 Pacific-Rim nations and 40% of the world’s GDP. That’s no accident… the treaty was negotiated in secret and the quislings in the Fourth Estate have given it almost no coverage. The little we know about the deal so far comes from WikiLeaks, and it isn’t pretty.
Commonly called “NAFTA on steroids”, the TPP is being pushed by Corporations and Corporatists of every stripe and opposed by virtually every labor, environmental, and civil liberties group in existence. The 24 of its 29 sections that don’t deal with trade cover labor laws, human rights, environmental standards, financial regulation, internet freedom, food safety, and much, much more. 
The TPP is an abomination that could keep this Furious column stocked for years to come, but even in this target-rich environment of disgust, there’s one thing that seemed to stand out to us. We, and our representatives, know nothing about this massive societal restructuring first-hand. Absolutely nothing. And that makes us absolutely Furious…
As you listen to the debates over the next few weeks and months, pay attention to one major point… no one, NO ONE knows what they’re talking about! As we said, the TPP has been negotiated in secret and that secrecy is still in place. According to the USTR (US Trade Representative), “…the draft text of the TPP, circulated among TPP negotiating parties is classified per Executive Order 13,526”, an order relating primarily to national security information.
If you want to hear the details of the TPP, your only option is to be at a classified briefing for Congressional members, and you can’t bring your staff or cellphone. If you actually want to read the text, it’s even worse. For some inexplicable reason, the TPP text lives in the basement (yes, the actual damn basement) of the Capitol Visitor Center. You must be a member of a relevant Congressional committee to see it (classified and secret clearances don’t count), and although you can’t have your staff present you will be accompanied by an escort who will watch over you while you read. You will be handed the dense chunks of legalese one section at a time. You still can’t have cellphones, and you will be forced to hand over any notes you make before leaving. And again, because the deal is classified, you’ll prohibited by law from discussing the details of what you’ve read.
This is apparently fits in well with President Obama’s idea of the most transparent administration in US history. “Every single one of the critics who I hear saying, ‘this is a secret deal,’ or send out emails to their fundraising base saying they’re working to prevent this secret deal, can walk over today and read the text of the agreement. There’s nothing secret about it.”
Elizabeth Warren, one of the many critics Obama was backhandedly referring to in that quote, has a different view of informed consent…
“As a result of your administration’s decision, it is currently illegal for the press, experts, advocates, or the general public to review the text of this agreement. And while you noted that members of Congress may “walk over…and read the text of the agreement”—as we have done—you neglected to mention that we are prohibited by law from discussing the specifics of that text in public.
While experts, the public, and the press are not allowed to review the latest draft of the TPP, executives of the country’s biggest corporations and their lobbyists already have had significant opportunities not only to read it, but to shape its terms. The Administration’s 28 trade advisory committees on different aspects of the TPP have a combined 566 members, and 480 of those members, or 85%, are senior corporate executives or industry lobbyists. Many of the advisory committees—including those on chemicals and pharmaceuticals, textiles and clothing, and services and finance—are made up entirely of industry representatives.
The American people should be allowed to weigh in on the facts of the TPP before Members of Congress are asked to voluntarily reduce our ability to amend, shape, or block any trade deal.”
So that’s it. Nothing. When it comes to the TPP we know absolutely nothing. Nothing, diddly, scratch, zero, zilch, zip, nada. Doesn’t matter; our putative representatives are being strong-armed to pass it sight unseen. And that makes us Furious.
Despite the pressure from the puppet masters behind our politicians, neither Fast Track nor the TPP it would enable are done deals. There is backlash among the Democrats on the whole mess, and some critical votes may be wavering. Please contact your representatives (Ron Wyden is particularly pivotal) and make YOUR opinion known! Your voice could make a difference. If you’re in Oregon, we have contact information for all our Federal and State representatives here. Outside of Oregon you’re on your own, but this link is a good place to start. Don’t let your representatives hear “nothing” from you!
If direct contact isn’t for you, here’s a petition you may want to sign… “We demand the immediate release of the full text of the latest draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to members of Congress, their staff, and the American public, before Congress votes to Fast Track the TPP.” Or maybe this one is better… “Vote no on “fast-track” authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. American jobs are too important to rush through another bad trade agreement.“
Finally, if your fury has driven you to learn more, here are several sources for information on the TPP, the secrecy surrounding it, Fast Track authority, and more. Dive in!
StopFastTrack.com is an excellent site with links to the hundreds of organizations opposing Fast Track. If Facebook is more your speed, then check out ExposeTheTPP.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership clause everyone should oppose, Elizabeth Warren in the Washington Post, Feb 2015
‘Incomprehensible’ Secrecy: U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders Demands Release of Corporate-Friendly Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement Text, Global Research, Jan 2015
Oregon: Wyden Trying to Pull a Fast One on Fast Track, AFL-CIO NOW, May 2015
Two Senate Dems Challenge Obama: Release the TPP Text, George Zornick in The Nation, Apr 2015
How TPP Increases Corporate Power vs. Government — And Us, Dave Johnson on Common Dreams, Apr 2015
Obama’s Pacific Trade Deal Is No Deal At All, David Brodwin in US News and World Report, Apr 2013
