[CTC] Reps. Scott, Doggett blast USTR for labor, environmental standards

[Arthur Stamoulis]

POLITICO
 
Reps. Scott, Doggett blast USTR for labor, environmental standards
 
6/8/15 3:38 PM EDT
Reps. Bobby Scott and Lloyd Doggett today said labor and environmental provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership mean little if the United States doesn't back them up with action.

In a "dear colleague" letter <https://www.politicopro.com/f/?f=39008&inb>, the congressmen pointed to a Government Accountability Office report that found the administration lacks a strategic, systematic approach to assess whether other countries are complying with labor provisions and relies heavily on labor complaints from third parties.

"Nothing in the TPP will change that," the lawmakers said.

They also cited murders and assaults in Guatemala and Honduras, which are members of the Central American Free Trade Agreement, as well as anti-union violence in Colombia. While the administration has said it would enforce relevant standards, "the administration currently has this ability to act in Colombia, yet it has failed to do so," the lawmakers said.

The U.S.-Peru free trade deal is proof that such agreements are ineffective at promoting environmental standards, they said, citing an April 2012 report from the Environmental Investigation Agency showing at least 112 illegal shipments of cedar and mahogany wood to the U.S. between 2008 and 2010. USTR didn’t pursue a case despite a request from civil society groups, they said.

Investor-state dispute settlement is increasingly being used to get rid of climate and environmental policies, the lawmakers added. In one recent North American Free Trade Agreement case, Canada was faulted for not allowing construction of a quarry project in an "environmentally sensitive part of Nova Scotia," paving the way for Ottawa to compensate the foreign firm, Bilcon, which is seeking $300 million.

— Victoria Guida
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