Calls for TPP transparency grow louder at home and abroad

[Oscar]

Calls for TPP transparency grow louder at home and abroad

[ http://www.canadians.org/blog/calls-tpp ... and-abroad ]

August 28, 2013 - 12:14pm

NDP Trade Critic Don Davies (pictured) is asking the Harper government to give MPs the same access to the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating text as U.S. Members of Congress have. Meanwhile in Malaysia, the government is feeling increasing pressure from right- and left-wing opposition to be more forthcoming about what is being discussed behind closed doors. Even The Economist is worrying that unless the 12 negotiating countries involved in the TPP come clean, they risk alienating any possible public support for the deal when or if it is ever concluded.
[ http://www.economist.com/news/asia/2158 ... hare-trade ]

“The TPP is a sweeping agreement covering issues that affect many areas of Canada’s economy and society – including several areas of policy that have never been subject to trade agreements before,” said Davies in an August 28 press release. “By keeping Parliament completely in the dark on negotiations the Conservatives also leave Canadians in the dark and, for an agreement of this magnitude that is abnormal and unacceptable.”
[ http://dondavies.ca/ndp-trade-critic-ca ... otiations/ ]

The NDP critic says if U.S. politicians can see the agreement as it looks to date, there’s no reason Canadian MPs shouldn’t be able to as well. It’s hard to disagree with that. Almost immediately, OpenMedia.ca issued a statement congratulating the NDP for its position.

“I am delighted to see that the Official Opposition is calling for much-needed greater transparency around these highly secretive talks,” said Steve Anderson, executive director of OpenMedia.ca, a network of people and organizations working to safeguard the possibilities of the open Internet and create an informed and participatory digital policy. “The NDP is joining hundreds of thousands of citizens taking part in campaigns like OurFairDeal.org, calling for more transparency. [ http://dondavies.ca/ndp-trade-critic-ca ... otiations/ ] We cannot allow a small cabal of unaccountable bureaucrats and unelected lobbyists to cook up extreme new rules that could wreck Canada’s digital economy and undermine expression online.”

Internationally, calls for transparency are growing also. U.S. Congress would not have gotten access, even limited access, to the TPP text without a groundswell of public campaigns demanding it. [ http://www.citizen.org/TPP ] In Malaysia, TPP secrecy risks destroying any popular or political support for the government's participation in the negotiations.

Following a TPP ministerial meeting in Brunei last week, Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed wrote that he “drew attention [of other TPP countries] to the growing discomfort domestically arising from Malaysia’s participation in the TPP negotiations, the outreach activities that had been undertaken and the concerns raised by the various stakeholders, specifically on the issue of lack of transparency and disclosure of information on the texts being negotiated.” The minister added he “amplified these concerns during the bilateral meetings with my counterparts from New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Canada, Singapore and US and exchanged views on how best to take this forward.” [ http://blog.miti.gov.my/?p=3676 ]

An August 24 article in The Economist explained that the government of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is “under fire from all sides” on this deal: [ http://www.economist.com/news/asia/2158 ... hare-trade ]

To Mr Najib’s left, Anwar Ibrahim, the opposition leader, sees it as an American effort “to impose its brand of economic model”. On his right, a former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, still influential in the ruling party, UMNO, also opposes it. Rules for public procurement under TPP might threaten the affirmative-action policies that favour the country’s ethnic-Malay majority.

Minister Mohamed adds to procurement—where Malaysia seeks a carve-out for its offsets to small and medium-sized companies as well as social enterprises—a list of other concerns his government has with certain chapters in the TPP:

I underscored that Malaysia had serious difficulties with the current [state-owned enterprises] proposal, which is seen to go beyond the stated objective of creating a level playing field and that it had serious implications to Malaysian SOEs. This concern on SOEs was also shared by some other TPP countries. On [intellectual property rights], I reiterated our strong position on the issue of access to affordable medicines. On the issue of environment, I reiterated our position to safeguard the States jurisdictions and that the environment and labour chapter should be based on a consultative approach to settle any disputes.

In that one paragraph we have more information about Malaysia’s position on the TPP than the Harper government has told us of Canada’s position in the past year. Requests by trade committee members for Canada’s cost-benefit assessment of the 12-country negotiation were ignored, possibly because it would prove how little the Canadian GDP would be affected by the TPP but more likely because the government hasn’t done any assessment at all. (Malaysia is only now performing its own, also because of widespread public pressure.)[ http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2 ... -soon.aspx ]

There will be rallies in Toronto and Montreal tomorrow—Thursday, August 29—to demand more from the Canadian and U.S. governments to end the excessive and unreasonable secrecy around the TPP negotiations. The rallies will both meet at noon outside U.S. consulates in those cities. More information here. [ http://www.canadians.org/blog/its-tpptu ... -community ] It’s part of an international week of action happening while TPP negotiators continue to advance their private agenda behind closed doors in Brunei.

Following this 19th round of negotiations, things may go completely dark as TPP countries move to smaller, completely inaccessible inter-sessional discussions on specific chapters. There's one happening right now in Ottawa, on the labour chapter. Others are slated for various TPP countries throughout September. The Council of Canadians and its allies in Canada and globally are committed to strengthening calls for total transparency – the public release of all TPP negotiating chapters – and a greater public and parliamentary role in developing trade and investment policy that benefits everyone, not just multinational corporations.

Stuart Trew's blog

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WATCH: Truthout TV Interviews Dr. Brian Moench About the TransPacific Partnership

[ http://truth-out.org/news/item/18523-tr ... artnership ]

Sunday, 01 September 2013 10:25 By Ted Asregadoo , Truthout | Video Interview

Ted Asregadoo interviews Dr. Brian Moench about the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) and how, if enacted, will undermine sovereignty, democracy, health, safety and jobs for US citizens and exempt participating corporations from federal, state and local laws that regulate their industries. [ . . . ]

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MOENCH: Death by Corporation: America's Corporate Deathstar

[ http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/1 ... -deathstar ]

Monday, 12 August 2013 09:28 By Dr Brian Moench, Truthout | Op-Ed

Instead of protecting US citizens, the Obama administration is enabling the ultimate corporate "Deathstar." The TransPacific Partnership will allow corporations "virtually unchecked control of our food supply, our land, air, water, wallets and our future."

A few days ago I was contacted by someone in the EPA and told that I had been nominated to be a potential recipient of an award from the White House, a "Champion of Change" on the issue of the public health consequences of global warming. To find out if I had received one of the awards, which sounded like the Heisman Trophy of public health/environmental do-gooderism, I was asked to fly back to Washington - at my own expense, thank you "Sequester" - with other nominees to attend a ceremony/panel discussion on the issue. I bought my plane ticket, attended the conference, but did not receive the "Climate Heisman." In fact, ironically, because of extreme (global warming) weather disrupting plane flights throughout the Midwest, the whole experience degenerated into a travel nightmare.

The White House staffers who ran the conference seemed like sincere people, trying to work within the system to back us away from the cliff of a climate crisis. But key here is "within the system." It turns out the clean break that must be made from the dirty energy corporations, including those fracking for natural gas, won't happen in time, or perhaps ever, because "within the system" refers to a state where the profitability of those powerful corporations has supremacy over a livable climate and the survival of much of the human race.

In Parts I and II of Mankind: Death by Corporation, we looked briefly at what amounts to ruthless, psychopathic behavior of our largest corporations spanning most major industries. But aided and abetted by "sincere" government officials, corporations are working behind the scenes, rapidly assembling the corporate "Death Star" to be unleashed upon citizens throughout the world, allowing them virtually unchecked control of our food supply, our land, air, water, wallets and our future.

MORE:

[ http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/1 ... -deathstar ]