Posted on 06/11/2015 5:13:41 PM PDT by concernedcitizen76
Passing this corporate giveaway masquerading as a “free trade deal” is a lengthy process; a process that begins today with a Senate vote on Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also known as “fast track.” Passing TPA would be Congress agreeing to neuter itself to a yes or no vote on a trade pact and ceding its power to amend it. Even worse, it would give trade deals this expedited process for six years, thus outlasting the current
Administration, and applying to other “trade” deals like the TTIP. Mind you, TPA is being voted on while the TPP text remains completely hidden from the public.
The latest leak purports to include 17 documents from negotiations on the Trade In Services Agreement, a blandly named trade deal that would cover the United States, the European Union and more than 20 other countries. More than 80 percent of the United States economy is in service sectors.
According to the Wikileaks release, TISA, as the deal is known, would take a major step towards deregulating financial industries, and could affect everything from local maritime and air traffic rules to domestic regulations on almost anything if an internationally traded service is involved.
The pact would be one of three enormous deals whose passage through Congress could be eased with passage of Trade Promotion Authority, also known as fast-track authority. The Senate has passed fast-track, and it could be taken up in the House this month.
“Today’s leaks of TISA (trade in services) text reveal once again how dangerous Fast Track Authority is when it comes to protecting citizen rights vs. corporate rights,” he added. “This TISA text again favors privatization over public services, limits governmental action on issues ranging from safety to the environment using trade as a smokescreen to limit citizen rights.”
The Office of the United States Trade Representative and top European officials have repeatedly denied that TISA or the Transatlantic deal would impact local laws, releasing a joint statement to that effect earlier this spring.
Still, the Wikileaks documents suggest that World Trade Organization-style tribunals would be expanded under TISA, and that such tribunals convened to resolve trade disputes can impact local laws. One such WTO tribunal ruled last month that the United States must repeal its laws requiring meat to be labeled with its country of origin, or face punitive tariffs on exports.
Wikileaks has warned that governments negotiating a far-reaching global service agreement are ‘surrendering a large part of their global sovereignty’ and exacerbating the social inequality of poorer countries in the process.
The Trade in Services Agreement exposed in a 17 document dump by Wikileaks on Thursday relates to ongoing negotiations to lock market liberalizations into global law.
Under the agreement, retailers like Zara or Marks & Spencers would have the right to open stores in any of the signing countries and be treated like domestic companies. A nationalized service, such as the British telecoms industry in the eighties, would have to ensure it was not harming competition under these terms.
Wikileaks says that corporations would be able to use the law in its current form to hold sway over governments, deciding whether laws promoting culture, protecting the environment or ensuring equal access to services were ‘unnecessarily burdensome’, or whether knowledge of indigenous culture or public services was essential to achieve ‘parity’.
“In other words, unaccountable private ‘trade’ tribunals would decide how countries could regulate activities that are fundamental to social well-being,” Wikileaks said.
I agree. One heck of a lot of our folks are okay with this nightmare ‘trade’ thing and are supporting Barry and his efforts to get it thru. That I do not understand at all.
The first rule of being a Republican is to distrust Obama and to oppose him at everything.
That’s right, and most of them supporting it haven’t even read it. Sen. Jeff Sessions noted that. There are three parts to the TPA. Only one part TPP can read by members of Congress in a secret, guarded room under lock and key. No notes can be taken. No copying whatsoever.
The other two parts, TiSA and TTiP, are totally classified. No one, not even members of Congress, can read them. And the terms of it can’t be public until several years after it passes. Wikileaks released a portion of the TiSA and it’s dreadful from the point of view of sovereignty and freedom.
Congress is a circus act of group think. The Republicans are insane to give Obama control over a deal the terms of which mostly unknown and malleable. Obama can write in terms after the fact. This is insanity. These trained rats are imploding this republic and will have to answer to people.
Anybody supporting or siding with the Kenyan born anti-America muslim obama regarding ANYTHING he, or his globalist puppet masters, are pushing on us is a no good commie ‘RAT. Our own folks are defending this ‘trade’ thing!! They are defending obama and his America destroying goals!
https://www.numbersusa.com/pages/house-tpa-social-media-page
I’ll believe a conservative with a PHD in economics (Congressman Dave Brat) over some media pundits.
(Brat is against it.)
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