There is no way to reconcile the TPP with helping working Americans

[joshcryer]

79. The US.

These are companies suing governments over laws that they perceive as hurting their investments. Corporations can file lawsuits against governments every day and night. ISDS sequesters it in secret tribunals where the outcome is per-determined in the US's favor.

The draft is fascinating and proves what I've said all along, the reason the negotiations are secret is because some countries get a better deal than others, Australia, Chile, and Canada are all getting their own exemptions. (In particular, Australia got an ISDS rule exemption, probably due to the Philip Morris thing.)

I'm not defending this btw, I'm expressing why I think it exists, and it's more nefarious than "evil corporations being allowed to sue governments." It's more like "developing countries are fucked by US secret tribunals."

Here's a pro-ISDS site claiming it's good because the government wins most of the time (there's a good PDF on the site that breaks it down, and governments win overwhelmingly and the settlements are quite small): http://csis.org/publication/investor-state-dispute-settlement-0