Obama administration betrays constituents with secret trade agreement
Included among a flurry of high-level intelligence leaks from the White House in the last week was a draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement among several nations of the Pacific Rim. The TPP has been negotiated by the Obama administration for the last two years, its text kept secret from the public and even Congress — but not from at least 600 corporate advisors.
As part of his presidential campaign platform, Obama promised that "[w]e will not negotiate bilateral trade agreements that stop the government from protecting the environment, food safety or the health of its citizens." Yet, the TPP does exactly that. One of its major provisions establishes an international tribunal with the authority to override domestic law. International corporations would be allowed to sue local, state or national governments for damages caused by environmental or business regulations that restrict their ability to engage in free trade as defined by the TPP.
This sort of agreement unfairly benefits international corporations and encourages domestic firms to leave the country. The TPP grants protections to international firms that American companies could only dream of.
Even more damning, the tribunal violates the most basic ethical rule of judges, that of neutrality. The tribunal would be made up of a rotating series of lawyers who would alternate between serving on the bench and arguing on behalf of corporations in front of it. The Obama administration is selling our safety and sovereignty.
Free trade has been a disaster for the U.S. because it's never fair. Corporations have used these agreements to maximize profits at the expense of ordinary Americans. Corporate profits are at an all-time high while we still suffer from crippling unemployment because of trade agreements like NAFTA. Corporations benefit from American spending power, while shipping profits overseas to tax shelters and exploiting desperate third-world employees by paying them low wages with no benefits in appalling conditions.
Republicans love to attack the United Nations and international law as attempts to destroy American sovereignty — so where is the outrage? Their presidential nominee has even gone on record supporting the passage of the TPP as quickly as possible. It's because they're slaves to their corporate masters, deregulating and slashing taxes with impunity. It's not like Democrats are any better, though; both parties are awash in corporate campaign donations and unwilling to upset the cash flow.
Ron Kirk, the U.S. trade representative, explained that secrecy was necessary because outrage after disclosure killed previous trade agreements like the Free Trade Area of the Americas a decade ago. Outrage is the only possible reaction here, when our politicians sell out Americans in favor of corporations.