TPP Now Bigger than NAFTA
Supporter, with this week's announcement that Canada
and Mexico are formally joining the Trans-Pacific
Partnership, the proposed pact now officially dwarfs NAFTA
in size and scope. We can't afford a "NAFTA of the
Pacific." Please take action now to ensure that there is
public and Congressional oversight. Thanks! --
Arthur
.
Urge Congress to Demand Transparency in the
TPP
Dear Friend:
Despite having received
over 42,000 petition signatures urging
transparency in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade
Agreement negotiations, U.S. Trade
Representative Ron Kirk continues to refuse to tell the
American people what he's been proposing in our names. His
office has granted approximately 600 corporate lobbyists
special "cleared advisor" status that allows them to comment
on negotiating texts — but you and I and even many Members
of Congress have been barred from seeing them.
With the U.S. Trade Representative
refusing to listen to reason, it's time for our elected
officials to step in. Please contact your Member of
Congress online now, urging them to demand greater
transparency and Congressional oversight in the TPP
negotiations.
Why is transparency so important? The TPP is poised to become the largest free trade agreement ever. The massive trade and investment pact is currently being negotiated behind-closed-doors between the United States and countries throughout the Pacific Rim, and is specifically intended as a "docking agreement" that as many as half the nations of the world could join over time.
With almost zero public oversight, powerful corporate
interests have been pushing for the TPP
to:
• Offshore good-paying jobs
to low-wage nations and undercut working
conditions globally
• Create new tools for
attacking environmental and consumer safety
standards
• Expand the
deregulation of banks, hedge funds
and insurance companies
• Further concentrate global
food supplies, displacing family
farmers and subjecting consumers to wild price
fluctuations
• Institute longer patents that
restrict access to affordable, generic
medications
We cannot afford for the TPP to
be negotiated in the shadows any longer. Please contact your Member of Congress now,
and urge them to sign a letter to the U.S. Trade
Representative that's being circulated by Congressman George
Miller and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro.
The Miller/DeLauro letter points out the precedents for draft trade negotiating texts being shared with the public; expresses strong concern about needless secrecy and over-classification in the TPP; and demands greater information-sharing with the public and the U.S. Congress.
The thirteenth major round of TPP negotiations — and perhaps one of the last — is taking place in San Diego from July 2 to 10. Please help us drag the TPP out of the shadows by taking action now.
Many thanks,
Arthur
Stamoulis, Executive Director
CITIZENS TRADE
CAMPAIGN
ENDS