This needs to become a larger part of the TPP discussion.

[Snarkoleptic]

Last week, the Senate passed legislation to bar the United States from taking part in a trade deal with countries that engage in slavery. The White House wants that language removed from the bill, because even though Malaysia is a hub of human trafficking, it is close to the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping route for global trade.

This week, though, Reuters published a series of photos of abandoned human trafficking camps in Malaysia that serve as a stark reminder of what goes on there -- and what kinds of countries the United States is willing to do business with.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/30/malaysia-human-trafficking_n_7476058.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013

[Jackpine Radical]

1. Business is business. What's so hard to understand about that?

Obama certainly gets it.

[Snarkoleptic]

3. I know, right?

What's a little human misery when there is shareholder value in need of a tweak?

[BeanMusical]

19. Yeah, we tortured some folks and some folks are bought and sold like cattle.

What's important is that the show must go on. (sarc.)

[marym625]

2. K&R!

I just don't understand why this thing is being pushed so damn hard by people who claim to care about people

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Because they care about people.

Rich people.

[marym625]

8. There ya go.

Sad.

[arcane1]

7. It has the full support of republicans

That says it all.

[marym625]

9. That's what I have been saying too

I know a bunch of us have.

Sigh.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

32. Insert these rules into the TPP, I dare them

http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

Human rights for all of us.

[marym625]

35. beautiful!

Yeah, I won't hold my breath. Not unless it is followed by,

Corporations have the right to usurp all of the above at their will and whimsy, without notice or ability for anyone or any nation to object

[Romulox]

4. Apparently, human trafficking regulations are non-negotiable to the Obama admin. A total nonstarter

[arcane1]

5. But "jobs" or something.

[marym625]

10. +1

[NRaleighLiberal]

24. I guess it's part of multi dimensional chess or something

agreed - let me join -

[randome]

11. Do you think there is NO human trafficking going on within the United States?

By the standard of the OP, no country should ever be part of a trade treaty.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[aspirant]

28. Please point directly to American

human-trafficking so we can resolve the problem.

It would be rather embarrassing to be excluded from our own TPP deal.

[randome]

36. The U.S. is a big country. Of course bad things happen within our borders.

The graphics -unpasteable- show some statistics, such as: "Over 30% of unauthorized spanish-speaking migrant workers in San Diego County alone have experienced labor trafficking."

http://www.alliesagainstslavery.org/slavery/

Though modern slavery is a hidden crime that is difficult to quantify, the U.S. government and academic researchers are working to develop better estimates of trafficked persons in the United States. We are careful not to use hyperbole or sensationalize this complex and systemic problem, and the reality of what survivors have endured needs no embellishing.

These statistics help paint a picture of slavery in the U.S. today:

None of this is to excuse Malaysia. But at least the Malaysian government has publicly admitted to the problem and is addressing it.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[salib]

38. Then I guess we need to clean up our own act

Before getting involved in foreign entanglements, right?

But definitely, human trafficking is abhorrent and we need as much "teeth" in laws against it. Good on Congress for forcing the issue.

[randome]

40. No argument there. We do and there should be.

In the meantime, I don't fault the TPP for not addressing every conceivable crime committed by us or other countries. It's just a trade treaty. Maybe we're missing an opportunity by not tying trade to human rights but that hasn't been the norm before, either.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[salib]

37. Do not feed the trolls

That is such a transparent "but everyone does it" line that it does not deserve a response.

[randome]

41. Oh, you little snooker-doodle!

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[pampango]

12. "Partnership agreements" (like the EU) should include high enforceable human rights, labor rights,

environmental standards, business regulation, consumer protections, etc. I would love to see all of those in any agreement with Asia, Europe or any other part of the world.

We all know that our right would freak out if the US ever thought about joining any "EU-like" partnership with other countries. The "high standards" would freak them out since they are not exactly business-friendly. The "enforceable" part would make them very unhappy too since national sovereignty would take a back seat to "human right, labor rights, etc."

[daleanime]

15. Where as right now national sovereignty.....

takes a back seat to profits.

[pampango]

17. If it took a back seat to human rights, labor right, the environment, etc. that would be

what progressives would look for.

[Romulox]

16. Enforced by *whom*, pampango??? nt

[pampango]

18. Any 'partnership agreement' would have to create an enforcement mechanism that

was mutually agreeable and outside the control of any one country.

In the case of the International Trade Organization proposed by FDR, it would have relied on arbitration panels composed of the member countries. If that was good enough for FDR, I could live with that.

[Romulox]

22. So enforced by the same corporations and countries who profit from the violations, then... nt

[pampango]

23. I don't think that's what FDR and Truman had in mind.

I think they looked at it as a fair way to adjudicate trade disputes.

[Romulox]

25. Neither FDR nor Truman negotiated the TPP. Your repetition/association tactics become absurd. nt

[pampango]

29. That is true. They negotiated the International Treaty Organization which, if congress

had not rejected it, would have made the TPP superfluous since it had labor rights, business regulation, etc. in it.

The type of trade agreement and enforcement mechanisms that FDR and Truman thought were good for the US and its people are always useful to know, irrespective of whether the TPP is a good idea or not.

[JDPriestly]

33. FDR was wrong on that one.

Nations should be able to have international courts and bring cases to international courts against other nations. Corporations should not have multinational arbitration panels or courts. Corporations are not national or democratic institutions. In fact, corporations are by definition autocratic, undemocratic institutions. They should be subordinate to national governments and petition individual governments and submit themselves to the laws and courts of individual nations when they are displeased with the status quo somewhere in the world.

It's crunch time. We either decide to allow ourselves to be governed by wealthy, autocratic, dictatorial corporations (and that is what they are by definition) or by human beings and preferably democracies that respect human rights.

Corporations do not respect human rights and are formed under rules that do not require and often do not encourage them to respect human rights.

How foolish can we be to allow corporations to have their own supranational court system under trace agreements like the WTO and the TPP?

This has to end. Corporations need to be regulated and permitted and controlled by human institutions called democratic governments.

[Elwood P Dowd]

42. Its obvious that some here want to be governed by wealthy, autocratic, dictatorial corporations.

The people in Washington who negotiate and write these fake free trade agreements are nothing more
than corporate lawyers and lobbyists who keep getting recycled through the USTR revolving door. The Dept's of Commerce, Labor, and State are just as bad.

[pampango]

43. I think FDR was right so we disagree on that but thanks for the detailed responses. n/t

[daleanime]

13. Hell yes....

[GeorgeGist]

14. Because China.

Asia: Another part of the world to fuck up with our meddling.

[Bluenorthwest]

20. Also Brunei, which is in the process of instituting brutal religious laws including the death

penalty for gay people and openly says they are doing this to insulate their culture from the globalization of the TPP. Malaysia and Brunei alone are reason to reject this agreement.
These human rights issues have actually been a very large part of the actual, organized efforts against TPP, it's just that the DU community wants to talk about TPP in relation to electoral politics only.

[Cleita]

21. Gee, I thought only the Pope did that. eom

[whathehell]

26. Popes stopped doing that a looooong time ago. n/t

[Cleita]

27. I know.

But some say he's anti-gay.

[JDPriestly]

30. We need to reserve the right to refuse to trade with countries that practice completely barbaric,

crude anti-social slavery.

No more slavery. No to Malaysian slavery. No to slavery anywhere in the world.

[Snarkoleptic]

31. Agreed! I was horrified looking at the pics at the article in the OP.

It certainly is troubling that we're going to go hand-in-hand with them as though nothing is wrong.

[KoKo]

34. Another Important Reason why TPP must not Pass!

Human Rights Issues for All Involved. We have spent our American Tax Payer Dollars (to the detriment of our Citizens) on Bringing "Failed" Freedom & Democracy which has brought Death and Destruction wherever we implement our Military Will and now the TPP/TPIP will be the the Final Solution. About "Trade?" Ha....It's about Business as Usual for those who Profit and have Profited.

When Will We Ever Learn? The Time is Now!

[George II]

39. You think if the TPP doesn't get signed the US won't be doing business with Malaysia?

Pop open your computer and look at the names of the countries on the chips. Open your closet and look at the names of the countries on the labels of your clothes.

[Snarkoleptic]

44. It's bad enough we are trading with them now, let alone

drawing them in even closer when we should be using our economic clout to push for major reforms.
Naturally, all of our clout is used to advance the agenda of the plutocrats and multinational corporations.