Insider view on the "secret" TPP

[PosterChild]

29. The artcle provides some insight into this...

“You can’t negotiate something as complex as this in public,” he said.

The reason is that a complex multinational agreement requires many different trade offs and compromises. We seek what is good for us, they seek what is good for them. The whole package must be on average good for all, but any one provision, in issolation, that may be good for us will be viewed as bad by them, and what, in issolation, may be good for them will be viewed as bad by us. It's only by putting them together that you get a deal that can be considered good by all.

When the various provisions are discussed piecmeal and in public, judgements are made on issolated provisions without understanding how they might fit into an overall agreement. Opportunities to understand what they are interested in, to explore various possibilities, and to experiment with new combinations are lost. Opportunities are lost- to all sides. Progress is stalled, stasis sets in, and then regression.

So the best strategy is to proceed with a level of cofidentiality, bring in experts and representatives of various interests as needed, and then provide a complete package for examimation, debate, and an up or down vote.

This is, by the way, the way the Iran nuclear treaty is being pursued. It's the only way such agreement can be acomplished.