Warren On Trans-Pacific Partnership: If People Knew What Was Going On, They Would Stop It - RawStory

[WillyT]

Warren on Trans-Pacific Partnership: If people knew what was going on, they would stop it
By Eric W. Dolan - RawStory
Wednesday, June 19, 2013 19:54 EDT

<snip>

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Wednesday voiced her opposition to President Barack Obama’s top international trade nominee because of a secretive free trade agreement.

“I am deeply concerned about the transparency record of the U.S. Trade Representative and with one ongoing trade agreement in particular — the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” she said on the Senate floor.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been negotiated behind closed-doors for years by trade representatives from Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. Though the free trade agreement could have wide ranging consequences on workers and consumers, the public only knows a few details of the treaty thanks to leaked documents.

“I have heard the argument that transparency would undermine the Trade Representative’s policy to complete the trade agreement because public opposition would be significant,” Warren explained. “In other words, if people knew what was going on, they would stop it. This argument is exactly backwards. If transparency would lead to widespread public opposition to a trade agreement, then that trade agreement should not be the policy of the United States.”

The Senate confirmed Michael Froman as the new United States Trade Representative by a 93-4 vote. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Carl Levin (D-MI) joined Warren in voting no.

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/19/warren-on-trans-pacific-partnership-if-people-knew-what-was-going-on-they-would-stop-it/

[sabrina 1]

1. Why is the refusal to be transparent always defended by claiming 'it's for your own good'??

How can anyone know what is or is not for their own good when they don't have a clue what their government is up to?

I am so grateful for Elizabeth Warren as there are few others right now looking out for the interests of the American people.

I have read some of the information on this Trade Agreement, and she is correct, even not knowing what she knows, it is clear that this would compromise the very sovereignty of this country.

I find it appalling that any American, right or left, would sell their own country down the river this way.

[MuseRider]

6. That very attitude

should raise the hackles on every single human on this planet.

Start right there, THAT is the problem. None of the rest of this would have happened or be happening if it were not for that attitude. They are our elected representatives not elected to determine what is for our own good without discussion and significant input from us.

[sabrina 1]

9. Yes, it should and it does and the reaction of the apologists is shameful but it does explain

why we are where we are. So long as there are people in both parties who will shut their eyes to anything their 'team' is doing, no matter how wrong, we will continue down this path. I don't blame Congress or even the Corporations, I blame those who enable them rather than letting them know that the people will not tolerate this kind of sell out of our sovereignty.

[rhett o rick]

31. It's bad enough that we have the dimwitted republican sheeple plus the millions that

are too engrossed in "Dancing with the Stars(?)" they dont care what happens, but we also have to put up with those Democrats that willfully resign their reason for the security of denial.

[rhett o rick]

33. Do you think an of the apologists will comment on this thread? nm

[sabrina 1]

40. No, I'd be surprised if they did.

[rhett o rick]

43. I made that comment before and one of them told me that they were getting the "facts". nm

[Divernan]

45. O's approach re TPP so pro-corporate/secretive

that there's not a damn thing they can spin on this one.

[hopemountain]

26. yes, that patronizing "daddy knows better"

condescending f'in attitude to cover up greed . it has to stop.

[ctsnowman]

13. X2

Since when are trade deals supposed to be secret anyway. Never has there been a more clear case of corporatocracy.

[cantbeserious]

60. When One Hears That Argument - Run!

eom

[Egalitarian Thug]

2. At some point the total disregard for the wishes of their constituents is going to cost these

so-called Democrats and the party members that have allowed them to take control. I expect that 2014 will be the first payment.

[Logical]

36. So true! +1000! n-t

[mike_c]

3. yet another reason all the government secrecy serves the powerful, but not the people....

Government of the one percent, for the one percent, by the one percent.

[Enrique]

4. this is none of our business

it's racist to want to know about things Obama hides from us.

[PufPuf23]

5. Senator Warren is a rare breath of fresh air. kr

[Hydra]

7. We're so lucky to still have a few defenders in the Senate

And Senator Warren in particular. The drive to keep her out of any place she can usefully do work has been extreme and unrelenting.

Keep up the good fight Senator!

[Divernan]

8. O's transparency is only for his 600 US corporate advisers/BFFs.

Out of public view the Obama administration is negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, a US-led free trade deal with several Pacific Rim countries. Six hundred US corporate advisers have had input, but so far the text hasn’t been shared with the public or media.

The level of secrecy is unprecedented. During discussions paramilitary teams guard the premises, helicopters loom overhead, and there’s a near-total media blackout on the subject. US Senator Ron Wyden, who chairs the congressional committee with jurisdiction over TPP agreement, was denied access to the negotiation texts.

In a floor statement to Congress Wyden said, “The majority of Congress is being kept in the dark as to the substance of the TPP negotiations, while representatives of US corporations — like Halliburton, Chevron, Comcast and the Motion Picture Association of America — are being consulted and made privy to details of the agreement.”

The deal would give multinational corporations unprecedented rights to demand taxpayer compensation for policies they think will undermine their expected future profits — straight from the treasuries of participating nations. It would push Big Pharma’s agenda in the developing world — longer monopoly controls on drugs, drastically limiting access to affordable generic meds that people need. The TPP would undermine food safety by limiting labeling and forcing countries like the US to import food that fails to meet its national safety standards, and ban Buy America or Buy Local preferences.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-trans-pacific-partnership-obamas-secret-trade-deal/5329911

[ReRe]

28. "Doing good means going into the darkness and shining a light." ~~ Unknown

Where are the "negotiations" taking place?

What are the names of the negotiators?

How many of them are American?

Is the Chair of the negotiating committee American?

How long have they been working on the unlawful trade treaty?

How many multi-national mega Corporations are represented?

How many members are government officials of their respective countries?

Who authorized them to negotiate this treaty?



Those are my starting questions.

[Divernan]

38. The answers to your questions are available on the web - start googling.

Last edited Thu Jun 20, 2013, 09:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Your questions get you started in the right direction, but reveal that you need to research the topic yourself to correct some of your incorrect assumptions about how trade agreements are negotiated and become law. In this case,negotiations have been going on for many years, and major meetings have taken place 4 or more times per year in a variety of countries. Here's some background and a list.

After the inauguration of Barack Obama in January 2009, the anticipated March 2009 negotiations were postponed. However, in his first trip to Asia in November 2009, president Obama reaffirmed the United States' commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and on 14 December 2009, new United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk notified Congress that president Obama planned to enter TPP negotiations "with the objective of shaping a high-standard, broad-based regional pact".

Since that time, 15 formal rounds of TPP negotiations have been held:

1st round: 15–19 March 2010, Melbourne, Australia
2nd round: 14–18 June 2010, San Francisco, USA
3rd round: 5–8 October 2010, Brunei
4th round: 6–10 December 2010, Auckland, New Zealand
5th round: 14–18 February 2011, Santiago, Chile
6th round: 24 March – 1 April 2011, Singapore
7th round: 15–24 June 2011, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
8th round: 6–15 September 2011, Chicago, USA
9th round: 22–29 October 2011, Lima, Peru
10th round: 5–9 December 2011, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
11th round: 2–9 March 2012, Melbourne, Australia
12th round: 8–18 May 2012, Dallas, USA
13th round: 2–10 July 2012. San Diego, USA
14th round: 6–15 September 2012, Leesburg, Virginia, USA
15th round: 3–12 December 2012, Auckland, New Zealand
16th round: 4–13 March 2013 Singapore
17th round: 15–24 May 2013, Lima, Peru

In the United States, the majority of free trade agreements are implemented as congressional-executive agreements.Unlike treaties, congressional-executive agreements require a majority of the House and Senate to pass. Under "Trade Promotion Authority" (TPA), established by the Trade Act of 1974, Fast track (trade) Congress authorizes the President to negotiate “free trade agreements... if they are approved by both houses in a bill enacted into public law and other statutory conditions are met.” In early 2012, the Obama administration indicated that a requirement for the conclusion of TPP negotiations is the renewal of "fast track" Trade Promotion Authority. If "fast track" is renewed, then the normal treaty ratification and implementation procedure would be bypassed, and the United States Congress would instead be required to introduce and vote on an administration-authored bill for implementing the TPP with minimal debate and no amendments, with the entire process taking no more than 90 days.
However you make unfounded assumptions as to format, and you should read a little history on the difference between treaties (which require a 70 percent approval vote from the U.S. Senate, and these trade agreements (like NAFTA) which require a simple majority of both the House and Senate. The proposed trade agreement is not "unlawful", in that if adopted, it would be adopted by the legislative branch of govt. , but from what is known because of some leaks of proposed language, it is, as one observer put it, a wish list for the One Percenters, and would compromise the sovereignty of member nations. There are protests and concerns in other countries involved in this, as you will find by researching the topic. You will also find that similar provisions in NAFTA have proven extremely damaging to the environment and costly to Canada and Mexico.

Here's a link to get you started.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Strategic_Economic_Partnership

Scope

Anti-globalization advocates accuse the TPP of going far beyond the realm of tariff reduction and trade promotion, granting unprecedented power to corporations and infringing upon consumer, labour, and environmental interests. One widely republished article claims the TPP is "a wish list of the 1%" and that "of the 26 chapters under negotiation, only a few have to do directly with trade. The other chapters enshrine new rights and privileges for major corporations while weakening the power of nation states to oppose them."

Negotiation secrecy
In May 2012, a group of 30 legal scholars, critical of the Office of the United States Trade Representative's "biased and closed" TPP negotiation process and proposed intellectual property-related provisions, publicly called upon Ambassador Kirk to uphold democratic ideals by reversing the "dialing back" of stakeholder participation and to release negotiating texts for public scrutiny. The law professors claimed that leaked documents show that the USTR is "pushing numerous standards that [...] could require changes in current U.S. statutory law" and that the proposal is "manifestly unbalanced—it predominantly proposes increases in proprietor rights, with no effort to expand the limitations and exceptions to such rights that are needed in the U.S. and abroad to serve the public interest."

The group claimed that the negotiations excluded stakeholders such as "consumers, libraries, students, health advocacy or patient groups, or others users of intellectual property" and that it only offered "minimal representation of other affected businesses, such as generic drug manufacturers or Internet service providers."

[ReRe]

42. You are too kind....

... but please keep on being that way.

You know, when PO first came into office, I was relieved. Relieved of that heavy feeling of disgust for eight long years. I sincerely thought I could trust PO to take care of things and do his best for the People who had taken such a beating. I was reasonable and knew "Rome was not built in a day," and that it would take a while to pull this country up out of the ditch. So I took my eye off the ball, and while I was away is when so many things went another direction. Like this TPP treaty. I thought it was so "secret" that I wouldn't be able to find it in google, so I didn't look. My bad.

Thank you for this info. It will go a long way in answering most of my questions.

[kristopher]

61. About 90% of the public wants universal background checks.

We can't get them because a group of corporations manipulates public opinion in key areas; effectively stopping this popular legislation in its tracks.

In any number of areas (ie energy and environment) international norms are more progressive than those embodied in US law.

The possibility exists that an agreement sacrificing a degree of US sovereignty might actually achieve some liberal legislative objectives that would otherwise not be possible. For example, a price on carbon could possibly follow from such an agreement.

The point is that, given the impotence of the public and the iron fist of corporate influence in the legislature, the secrecy might be designed to stop groups like ALEC from killing key provisions that make the difference between a trade agreement that good for the public and one that serves only the interest of the corporations.

Then again, maybe Obama is everything Fox News says that he is; that does seem to be the consensus on this 'progressive' forum.

[limpyhobbler]

10. Democracy is dead I suppose. Obama was the ultimate corporate Trojan horse.

Pretty messed up.

[Not Sure]

19. That is how I feel about Obama now.

It's becoming apparent there was no difference in how either party was going to sell out this country. Sure, there are a few lone voices who stand up for what's right, but 96-4? We don't stand a chance.

[Civilization2]

64. yup! although he did state it to those listening, he was always a corporate candidate.

I said it then, and history proves it so,. I think it was a case of people projecting what they wanted onto him, and then believing he somehow would do those things they wanted,. when all along he was clearly stating his pro-militarism, pro-corporate, stance.

I don't think he ever reviled his pro-secrecy, pro-drone-murder ramp-up campaign, and some of his other facets,. but perhaps people will learn that the corporate-military 1% are the rulers now, and the president is merely the PR face of their power.

[mick063]

11. My distaste for Obama is.accelerating.

He lied to us on a few times.

[msongs]

12. we need a nice whistle blower to publish this odious document for all to see nt

[donnasgirl]

15. The sad part of your comment

Is that it is true, but why should an individual put his own well being in jeopardy for the people who do nothing but forget what that individual has done in the name of good.

[Enthusiast]

56. Wouldn't such a whistle blower be considered a terrorist?

I mean....

[ctsnowman]

14. K & R

Sad.

[L0oniX]

16. Zombie Democracy ...you saw it here first!

[ReRe]

29. Actually...

"Zombie Democracy" sounds like Germany about 80 years ago...

Germans are alarmed at what is going on in America.

[Enthusiast]

57. I like the term "Zombie Democracy".

Says it all.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

17. "The shepherd always tries to persuade the sheep that their interests and his own are the same."

Marie Beyle (Schopenhauer)

[Demeter]

18. Dear darling Senator Elizabeth Warren--tell us HOW to stop it!

because Lord knows, we've tried everything we can think of to stop wars of aggression, NSA spying, nuclear reactors, and other evil things.

Just give us a tiny clue that won't get us all killed or jailed for life in Gitmo.

[rhett o rick]

35. Massive civil disobedience is the only way. We cant get rid of the elite. We can only hope to

convince them that their life will be better if we are at least a little happy.

For the NSA, I am not condoning civil disobedience or civil unrest of any kind. Merely commenting that it's the only way.

[jsr]

20. Recommend

[AzDar]

21. If Warren is against it, that's enough for me. But Elizabeth AND Bernie?

WTF can be done to stop this??

[JDPriestly]

22. And Alan Grayson. All the best are against this.

We should thank them for speaking out.

[Logical]

49. +1000 n-t

[JDPriestly]

23. Need I say more?

[KansDem]

24. Let me understand this: Trade agreements involving the US are "secret"...

...yet my email and phone messages are not and subject to NSA scrutiny?

Do I have that right?

[Harmony Blue]

34. Essentially...yes

sad isn't it?

[ananda]

25. 4 good senators out of 100

Boy corporate money spreads its stench wide.

[ReRe]

53. I think it's more than money....

... at the root of this mysterious ailment that has befallen Capital Hill. Yeah, money is a part of it, but there is something even more powerful than money in the equation. The NSA revelations in the last week or so should give you a big hint.

[Buns_of_Fire]

27. Treaties need 2/3 Senate approval.

Somewhere along the line, the complete text is going to have to be given to the Senate -- and, I would assume, the people will (one way or another) get to see it, too. That's when all hell will break loose.

But if they keep ticking off Senators with all this hush-hush, we-won't-tell-you-anything crap, their precious TPP could conceivably wind up DOA by the time it gets that far.

I suppose, in the end, it'll wind up a battle between a Senator's ego and a Senator's lust for campaign cash from those who'll benefit the most.

In that battle, I fear We The People are pretty-well screwed.

[Divernan]

44. Trade agreements, since 1974, need 51 percent from House and Senate

Instead of the 70 percent Senate approval, they require only a simple majority from both chambers. Obama wants that "fast track" provision extended.

In the United States, the majority of free trade agreements are implemented as congressional-executive agreements.Unlike treaties, congressional-executive agreements require a majority of the House and Senate to pass. Under "Trade Promotion Authority" (TPA), established by the Trade Act of 1974, Fast track (trade) Congress authorizes the President to negotiate “free trade agreements... if they are approved by both houses in a bill enacted into public law and other statutory conditions are met.” In early 2012, the Obama administration indicated that a requirement for the conclusion of TPP negotiations is the renewal of "fast track" Trade Promotion Authority. If "fast track" is renewed, then the normal treaty ratification and implementation procedure would be bypassed, and the United States Congress would instead be required to introduce and vote on an administration-authored bill for implementing the TPP with minimal debate and no amendments, with the entire process taking no more than 90 days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Strategic_Economic_Partnership

[Buns_of_Fire]

46. I stand corrected. Thank you.

Unfortunately, the "fast-tracking" of this monstrosity is going to wind up royally screwing us even... well, faster.

[Divernan]

55. Both the process & content of this TPP are SO complex.

I haven't done all the digging I want and need to do yet - for instance I've seen references that the bulk of the over 20 sections on this agreement have to do with pro-corporate proposals that are NOT really trade related. I'm just too busy with life at the moment to dig into that aspect. And actually, unless I can access some of the leaks, that information is probably not publicly available.

Thank the heavens for Elizabeth Warren, who is shining the bright and harsh light of day on the Obama administration.(And no, I am most definitely NOT a racist, having voted for Obama twice - the first time with enthusiasm and optimism; the second time holding my nose.)

[ReRe]

30. K&R

To Mars and back.

Sen Warren needs to grab Bernie and others who agree with her, call a press conference, and take megaphones. Have everyone make a short statement with megaphone. Then open it up to the press. Thanks WillyT for the news.

[Awknid]

48. I think they would assasinate her if she did!

[GeorgeGist]

32. We are so screwn ...

The Senate confirmed Michael Froman as the new United States Trade Representative by a 93-4 vote. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Carl Levin (D-MI) joined Warren in voting no.

[Logical]

37. Warren thrown under the bus in 3...2...1

[forestpath]

39. How can people stop it? Not only are Obama and the vast majority of Congress

bought and paid for - besides which, there is no way the huge majority who voted for Froman are unaware of his true agenda - but anyone who tries to stop it will be labeled a terrorist.

It's crystal clear the fix is in, offically installing international corporations as our new overlords was Obama's goal all along, and voting for Democrats makes absolutely no difference.

[kentuck]

41. IMO, Senator Warren has done a very good job in her first year in office.

Hopefully, she will turn into a power player in the Senate. Lord knows they need it.

[octoberlib]

47. Key words here "Congress has to pass legislation" LOL!

It would create the largest free-trade zone in the world and produce a $1 trillion annual increase in GDP for the economies on both sides of the Atlantic, according to a European Commission study.

If Obama could negotiate and implement just these two agreements, he would almost without question be the most successful trade president in U.S. history. But the Constitution charges Congress, not the president, with regulating commerce, which means Congress has to pass legislation implementing any agreements the president negotiates. And this is where the administration may have a huge problem on its hands.

In any political battle over trade, this gives the upper hand to anti-trade voices. This is important to keep in mind now, because the success or failure of the TPP and the TTIP -- and the potential trillions in added wealth for the nation's coffers -- will likely be determined by vote in Congress that may take place as early as July.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/06/the-odd-bipartisan-coalition-that-could-sink-obamas-free-trade-legacy/276938/

[Jakes Progress]

50. You'd think that woman wasn't bidness friendly.

I know my governor - good-hair perry - wouldn't talk like that. And he's doing all he can to get lazy, greedy, polluting companies to move to Texas. Gotta make those promises in secret though. You can't trust people. (That is unless the person is a corporation.)

[BillyRibs]

51. The Workers pay race to the Bottom

Will not be televised!

[pa28]

66. Obama stated it a little differently.

He said the TPP will give American workers and farmers will get a "level playing field".

Sounds so much better that way, almost like a good thing until you realize he's talking about competing with whichever overseas worker has the lowest pay and worst working conditions at any given time.

The race to the bottom is on unless the public realizes how badly they are about to get fucked.

[bluedigger]

52. I assume "trade representatives" means corporate bagmen.

[blkmusclmachine]

54. Forward! Into the abyss!

Bullsh!t you can believe in!

[Enthusiast]

58. We love the abyss!

Yes we do!

[Catherina]

63. Great slogan. Some politicians should adopt it n/t

[treestar]

59. That implies she knows what is going on, so why doesn't she reveal it?

All those countries have been working on it for years? Are we all somehow living under this treaty, or is it not complete yet? How could we be living under it?

[NorthCarolina]

62. With this vote, we know who the true Senate warriors for the common citizen are. nt

[mathematic]

65. She's paraphrasing an argument, not stating her position

She clearly wants more transparency but where has she indicated that she's against free trade agreements or the TPP?

People are purposely misreading these comments and the hacks over at rawstory are purposely writing misleading headlines (as usual).

[noiretextatique]

67. just another racist firebagger