Posted on 05/20/2015 12:28:41 PM PDT by Kaslin
President Barack Obama is negotiating a multilateral trade agreement with the governments of 11 nations. These include Malaysia and Vietnam -- as well as Japan, Brunei, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru.
This so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership would govern most of the commercial relations between the nations that sign it.
"With over 20 chapters under negotiation," explains a Congressional Research Service report published in March, "the TPP partners envision the agreement to be 'comprehensive and high-standard,' in that they seek to eliminate tariffs and nontariff barriers to trade in goods, services, and agriculture, and to establish or expand rules on a wide range of issues including intellectual property rights, foreign direct investment and other trade-related issues."
The Obama administration has granted the draft of this massive deal more secrecy than a Hillary Clinton email. Documents related to it are classified, and members of Congress can review them in a secured room.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner would like to enact legislation giving Obama "Trade Promotion Authority" -- aka "fast track" power -- to enshrine this deal in U.S. law.
Fast-track legislation would allow Obama to avoid presenting the 12-nation deal to the Senate as a treaty -- which, under our Constitution, would require a two-thirds vote of all senators present. Instead, it allows him to present it to both houses of Congress for a simple majority vote -- with no amendments allowed.
In our prospective "free-trade" partner, Malaysia, according to Obama's State Department, the "government restricted union and collective-bargaining activity, and government policies created vulnerabilities and worsened child labor and forced labor problems, especially for migrant workers."
Malaysian human rights problems, says Obama's State Department, include "restrictions on freedoms of speech, assembly, association, and religion; and restrictions on freedom of the press, including media bias, book banning, censorship, and the denial of printing permits."
Our prospective "free-trade" partner Vietnam, according to Obama's State Department, is "an authoritarian state ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of Vietnam."
This Obama-Malaysia-Vietnam deal that Boehner-McConnell want to fast track through Congress raises many questions. The most obvious: Is there any such thing as free trade with unfree countries?
The Congressional Research Service report politely describes socialism as "state-owned enterprises."
"In the context of the current TPP negotiations, the SOE presence in Vietnam -- estimated to represent 40 percent of output -- may warrant particular attention, although Malaysia and Singapore also have important SOE sectors," says the report.
Will Obama's multilateral trade deal with 11 nations put private-sector American manufacturers in Ohio and Michigan into unfair competition with foreign manufacturers in places like Malaysia and Vietnam?
Yes.
But it will likely do something worse than that. It will put American workers into competition with nominally American companies that move more of their capital and jobs abroad -- where they will be able to exploit cheap labor in less-than-free countries and evade the often-excessive U.S. regulation and taxation Obama himself advances.
In America, there is a sharp dividing line between private businesses. On one side are capitalist enterprises owned by families, individuals and small partnerships of individuals. On the other are big businesses -- public-stock companies -- run by professional managers in the theoretical interest of diffuse bodies of stockholders.
Families and individuals who own businesses are free to run them according to their own values. And, yes, making a profit is clearly one of those values. But a family that owns a business might sometimes decide to forego a measure of profit in favor of the well-being of their friends, neighbors and country.
They may decide that love of country and love of God trumps love of money.
But for publicly owned big businesses -- that are not controlled by the moral values of an individual or family owner -- the pursuit of ever-higher profit is the highest good. If the only bottom line governing business decisions is the financial bottom line, it might make sense to manufacture a drug or device that, say, kills an unborn child.
Or, no matter what you make, move your jobs to Vietnam or Mexico.
"Ford Motor Co. on Friday made official a $2.5 billion investment in Mexico for two new plants and an expansion of a diesel engine line that will create about 3,800 jobs," the Detroit News reported last month.
We have lost 7,231,000 manufacturing jobs since manufacturing employment peaked in America in 1979. The real median household income of Americans who completed high school but did not attend college dropped 27.8 percent from its peak in 1973 to 2013 -- falling from $56,395 to $40,701 in constant 2013 dollars.
Obama, Boehner and McConnell are on the same side of this issue. It is the wrong side.
There is no such thing as “Free Trade” and only the ignorant believe there is.
I prefer Fair Trade
China free trade.
We give
They receive
This Obama fast track “trade” bill is the worst bill EVER. Just read some of the links I post here below if you don’t believe it.
This TTP/TPA Obama trade deal is a trojan horse.It’s disguised as “free trade” What It really allows is for Obama to flood the USA with an unlimited number of 3rd world immigrants ...
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/immigration/item/20710-obama-gop-trade-scheme-includes-unrestricted-immigration
It’s Obamatrade but also Obama Amnesty for the entire 3rd world.
This Fast track gives Obama power to make treaties that override U.S. laws. Soros wrote a book on how to do this. So these “conservative” Senators are voting to give Obama power to rewrite all U.S. laws because treaties override U.S. laws. It’s the destruction of the republic. Proof here :
http://getliberty.org/oppose-trade-authority-for-obama-on-pacific-trade-deal/
http://www.conservativehq.com/node/20233
http://wakeupfromyourslumber.com/the-trans-pacific-partnership-and-the-death-of-the-republic/
tweet or call congress and tell them to vote no to give Obama fast track power to make treaties
They are starting to remember they are Americans first.
And, they see what the first few decades of "Free Trade" hath wrought on the nation. They now see we were all lied to.
There's no such thing as Free Trade.
The people can't read these fast track trade treaties
And they override U.S. laws
So basically the Senate voted to give Obama fast track power to overide any U.S. law
This TTP/TPA Obama trade deal is a trojan horse.It’s disguised as “free trade” What It really allows is for Obama to flood the USA with an unlimited number of 3rd world immigrants ...
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/immigration/item/20710-obama-gop-trade-scheme-includes-unrestricted-immigration
The Titanic prepares to slide under the waves. This entire government is suicidal. If they pass this trade bill we can all kiss our a@@es goodbye.
Yes and the news media is hiding it from the American people
yes, it is what ‘so why is this really so true?’ Will you listen when I’m Gone? Can’t tell you where I’ve been ... don’t listen ... there is no favorite tune ....
but Georgia ... none know, except for the few ... No need to tell ‘em ... the Truth is never believed ...
every silver lining ... is no choice America feels ... Find me, Here All Alone ... Am Waiting for the Cold to Get Colder ....
What Do You Need To Say?
God and Lord, Help Me Hold It In!
Once again Ross Perot, fraud that he turned out to be when he cashed in on government subsidies for his son’s distribution empire, was right about treaties. The one criteria should be “Is it good for America?”
don’t come out looking ... it is right behind me ... Go for the Gold, America, Move On!
Eliminates the restrictions on “Trade in services” . This means unlimited immigration from the 3rd world into the USA
This TTP/TPA Obama trade deal is a trojan horse.It’s disguised as “free trade” What It really allows is for Obama to flood the USA with an unlimited number of 3rd world immigrants ...
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/immigration/item/20710-obama-gop-trade-scheme-includes-unrestricted-immigration
There are what around 4 billion people in the 3rd world wanting to move to the USA
allow America to follow each of U.S.
More Wishes than A Thousand Upon Thousand can count Upon You ... May A Promise Follow you! May Jesus Follow You, in your Soul!
Bonehead and Mcconnell wonder why the Repulican party is called the stupid party; this is why.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.