[CTC] E&E: Sierra Club slams Pacific trade deal in new ad campaign

[Fred Heutte]

Sierra Club slams Pacific trade deal in new ad campaign 

Daniel Bush, E&E reporter

Published: Monday, April 27, 2015 

The Sierra Club and other green groups stepped up their opposition to
the Trans-Pacific Partnership today with a new ad campaign that
highlights the controversial trade deal's potential environmental
impacts.

The trade deal, dubbed TPP, which the Obama administration is
currently negotiating with 11 Asian countries, would increase fossil
fuel production and allow companies to skirt clean air and water
regulations, said Ilana Solomon, the director of Sierra Club's
Responsible Trade Program, in a statement.

"The TPP will impact every aspect of our lives, from shipping jobs
overseas to threatening the air we breathe and the water we drink,"
Solomon said. "We're mobilizing our [supporters] and helping spread
the word to shed light on a toxic trade deal."

The campaign blitz includes billboards, radio and online ads
targeting residents of California, Oregon and Washington state, the
Sierra Club said. The Washington Fair Trade Coalition, Columbia
Riverkeeper and other environmental groups are also backing the
effort.

The Obama administration has long argued that the TPP includes strict
environmental and labor protections, but green groups, unions and
most Democrats in Congress remain opposed to the agreement.

Senate and House Republicans, on the other hand, are supporting a
"fast-track" bill that would give the administration final say over
setting terms for future trade deals, including the TPP and another
agreement with European nations.

The Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee both
approved the legislation last week, paving the way for floor votes
later this year.