General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The jobs are going whether we sign agreements or not. [View all]Demit
(11,238 posts)TPP is much, much more than a trade deal.
TPP would give corporations the power to set new international laws that can override the
domestic laws of sovereign governments, in such areas as environmental protection, food safety, medicines. Corporations will be able to sue national govts and collect taxpayer compensation if they think any regulations or laws threaten to undermine the profits they expect. These "investor protections" are written into the agreement: global "investor state tribunals" will be the final arbiters. They'll trump any participating nation's legislators and judges. They'll trump our Supreme Court.
Think of what this does to democracy: The people we now elect to make our laws will have their power superseded by international tribunals, consisting of people we did not elect and have no power to vote out of office. It's a corporate power grab of such scope, it's a new paradigm all right, but not one that will make the world better for ordinary people.