[CTC] DeLauro: Now is the Time to Stop the TPP

[Dolan Mike]

Rep. Rosa DeLauro: Now is the Time to Stop the TPP
Blue Nation Review
By Rep. Rosa De Lauro
August 24, 2015
http://bluenationreview.com/rep-rosa-delauro-now-is-the-time-to-stop-the-tpp/

The latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations has again failed to produce an agreement, despite intense pressure on the Obama administration to conclude negotiations before the start of the 2016 primary season. The TPP is in trouble because of serious problems with the agreement highlighted by Democrats in Congress and elsewhere. Now is the perfect moment for progressives to speak out about those weaknesses, show the American people just how much danger the TPP poses to our jobs and wages, and finally stop this bad deal once and for all.

The last big trade agreement the United States signed, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, destroyed 75,000 American jobs in its first three years alone, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The TPP is the same thing on a far larger scale, and it will be even worse for our workers.

TPP countries like Japan spent years artificially cheapening their exports through currency manipulation. According to the respected economist (and TPP supporter) C. Fred Bergsten, currency manipulation has already cost up to five million U.S. jobs. We were reminded of the devastating impact of this abusive practice when China (not a TPP partner) devalued its own currency last week, which the Economic Policy Institute projects could destroy up to 640,000 more American jobs.

When we see whole neighborhoods abandoned in Detroit, and an entire generation struggling with long-term unemployment, we are witnessing the effects of these abuses. Yet despite calls from a bipartisan majority in Congress and from the Big Three automakers, the administration has repeatedly said that the TPP will do nothing to tackle currency manipulation. That simply reinforces the message that the U.S. would rather sacrifice jobs than fight on this issue.

The administration has also done little to push back against proposed rules that would allow Japanese auto firms to claim components from China and other non-TPP nations as their own and grant them the benefit of duty-free access to American markets.

Meanwhile, the administration seems determined to promote corporate special interests. A document leaked to Politico last month shows U.S. negotiators actively supporting intellectual property standards that would work in favor of Big Pharma and against manufacturers of less profitable but more affordable generic medicines. The result will be more expensive drugs. In fact, an influential group of AIDS researchers has said progress tackling HIV in recent years could not have happened under TPP rules. In the latest negotiating round, our trading partners once again refused to accept the outrageous demands of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry, despite pressure from the American negotiators.

Sadly, that epitomizes the administration's approach throughout this process. It has turned a blind eye to abuses by TPP nations and gone out of its way to accommodate corporate special interests, all while doing little to safeguard American workers and their wages. But the tide may be turning against the TPP.

Our nation's working families are already struggling with lost jobs and low wages. They cannot afford another bad trade deal that makes matters worse. We owe it to them to reject the TPP forcefully and clearly. Now is the time to make our case.




Michael F. Dolan, J.D.
Legislative Representative
International Brotherhood of Teamsters
Desk  202.624.6891
Fax    202.624.8973
Cell    202.437.2254

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