[CTC] FIRM Groups Announce Opposition to Trans Pacific Partnership

[Arthur Stamoulis]

For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 2nd, 2015

Contact: Bernardita M. Yunis Varas, byunisvaras at cccaction.org <mailto:byunisvaras at cccaction.org>, W: 202.339.9377 <tel:202.339.9377>, C: 305.968.7542 <tel:305.968.7542>
Donna De La Cruz, ddelacruz at cccaction.org <mailto:ddelacruz at cccaction.org>, 202.339.9331 <tel:202.339.9331>
 

FIRM Groups Announce Opposition to Trans Pacific Partnership <http://www.fairimmigration.org/2015/04/02/firm-groups-announce-opposition-to-trans-pacific-partnership/>
Groups Call on President and Congress to Recognize Harmful Effects of Unbalanced Trade on Societies and Economies around the World

 
WASHINGTON— Groups in the Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) are opposed to the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) because past similar deals have caused crippling poverty in many countries.
 
“The current trade negotiations for TPP would not be an exception to this. In these deals, the U.S. government is de-emphasizing labor and human rights, while lifting up corporate rights through Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions, meaning extra-legal tribunals where corporations may pursue claims of lost profits,” said FIRM spokesperson Kica Matos.
 
“Like NAFTA and other trade agreements, TPP risks offshoring millions of jobs overseas forcing more and more people to lose their livelihood here and in other countries,” added Matos. “If TPP is passed, it could not only undermine work opportunities and protections for workers here and abroad, but it could also dramatically increase the number of economic refugees to this country. Millions could be subjected to poverty and will inevitably be forced to leave to seek opportunity elsewhere, risking their lives coming to the U.S. only to face our broken immigration system.”
 
“Worse yet, the Administration wants to “fast track” a vote on new trade agreements. Instead, we should fast track an immigration bill. We should fast track a jobs bill, unemployment benefits, climate change legislation, and voting rights. We must fast track solutions for children who have been forced to migrate and arrive at our border,” Matos said.
 
Among the groups that have signed the statement are CASA, Center for Community Change, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), Michigan United, Promise Arizona, One America, Workers’ Defense Project, Alliance for a Just Society, Voces de la Frontera, and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
 
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The Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM) is the nation’s largest immigrant-rights coalition, with grassroots organizations in 30 states fighting for immigrant rights at the local, state and federal level. For more information, go to www.fairimmigration.org <http://www.fairimmigration.org/> or follow us on Twitter @Re4mImmigration <https://twitter.com/re4mimmigration>.
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