Posted on 06/03/2015 8:14:34 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
WikiLeaks releases today the “Investment Chapter” from the secret negotiations of the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) agreement. The document adds to the previous WikiLeaks publications of the chapters for Intellectual Property Rights (November 2013) and the Environment (January 2014).
The TPP Investment Chapter, published today, is dated 20 January 2015. The document is classified and supposed to be kept secret for four years after the entry into force of the TPP agreement or, if no agreement is reached, for four years from the close of the negotiations.
Julian Assange, WikiLeaks editor said:
“The TPP has developed in secret an unaccountable supranational court for multinationals to sue states. This system is a challenge to parliamentary and judicial sovereignty. Similar tribunals have already been shown to chill the adoption of sane environmental protection, public health and public transport policies.”
Current TPP negotiation member states are the United States, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, Chile, Singapore, Peru, Vietnam, New Zealand and Brunei. The TPP is the largest economic treaty in history, including countries that represent more than 40 per cent of the world´s GDP.
The Investment Chapter highlights the intent of the TPP negotiating parties, led by the United States, to increase the power of global corporations by creating a supra-national court, or tribunal, where foreign firms can “sue” states and obtain taxpayer compensation for “expected future profits”. These investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) tribunals are designed to overrule the national court systems. ISDS tribunals introduce a mechanism by which multinational corporations can force governments to pay compensation if the tribunal states that a country’s laws or policies affect the company’s claimed future profits. In return, states hope that multinationals will invest more. Similar mechanisms have already been used. For example, US tobacco company Phillip Morris used one such tribunal to sue Australia (June 2011 – ongoing) for mandating plain packaging of tobacco products on public health grounds; and by the oil giant Chevron against Ecuador in an attempt to evade a multi-billion-dollar compensation ruling for polluting the environment. The threat of future lawsuits chilled environmental and other legislation in Canada after it was sued by pesticide companies in 2008/9. ISDS tribunals are often held in secret, have no appeal mechanism, do not subordinate themselves to human rights laws or the public interest, and have few means by which other affected parties can make representations.
The TPP negotiations have been ongoing in secrecy for five years and are now in their final stages. In the United States the Obama administration plans to “fast-track” the treaty through Congress without the ability of elected officials to discuss or vote on individual measures. This has met growing opposition as a result of increased public scrutiny following WikiLeaks’ earlier releases of documents from the negotiations.
The TPP is set to be the forerunner to an equally secret agreement between the US and EU, the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership).
Negotiations for the TTIP were initiated by the Obama administration in January 2013. Combined, the TPP and TTIP will cover more than 60 per cent of global GDP. The third treaty of the same kind, also negotiated in secrecy is TISA, on trade in services, including the financial and health sectors. It covers 50 countries, including the US and all EU countries. WikiLeaks released the secret draft text of the TISA’s financial annex in June 2014.
All these agreements on so-called “free trade” are negotiated outside the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) framework. Conspicuously absent from the countries involved in these agreements are the BRICs countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
You can read the agreement here: https://goo.gl/5hQ1O2
Then why bother arguing about the “objectionable” things he’s done or voted on, unless you’re trying to be a sh*+ - stirrer? We know that Hillary was born in Illinois and we know that you’ll likely vote for her. Good for you!
Now, now...you know I’m a Conservative and not in any ways a shit stirrer. We are still becoming familiar with the possible candidates for President, and it is difficult for them to make the switch from governing a state or being a non-governing Senator.
Like Abraham Lincoln?
He was a lawyer. Ronald Reagan was an actor; so what?
It was the principles of these American born men that made them good Presidents in difficult times.
WOW! You’re really miffed. I read your corrections of the spelling at another thread (”sight” rather than “site”). Why not chill a bit. Lincoln’s dead and I’m about ready to go to bed.
“You have to pass the bill to see what is in it.”
That is what Nancy Pelosi said about Obamacare and how did that work out?
Lincoln is judged the best US president by the majority of historians, as I’m sure you know. He was a well-known, respected railroad (read corporate) lawyer in his day.
Perhaps, but the oddity still exists to wit: Why is a trade agreement secret? It’s only secret from the American People. I can’t think of why a multilateral trade agreement would need to be secret.
bkmk
They say it’s to keep the negotiations between countries and companies secret.
I can.
Take a stiff drink.
Take another.
See? Now you can too.
Similar mechanisms have already been used. For example, ... by the oil giant Chevron against Ecuador in an attempt to evade a multi-billion-dollar compensation ruling for polluting the environment.
It has been comprehensively proven, in US courts, that this lawsuit in Ecuadorean courts was the result of a criminal conspiracy between corrupt Ecuadorean officials and courts, international enviro groups and corrupt US law firms.
The extent to which Chevron is responsible for pollution of Ecadorean forests is undetermined at this time. Chevron may very well be lying, but then so are their opponents.
I’m new to posting, but I have been lurking for years.
I have read many posts by you.
I am seeing a new side of you.
If it were only Obama supporting the secrecy, I’d be more concerned.
The fact of some Conservative support tells me it may be more about keeping other countries from objecting to specifics.
here we go
No..tell us....
Maybe you should be more illustrated.
I must not be drawn....
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