[CTC] Too much at stake to fast-track Trans-Pacific pact

[Arthur Stamoulis]

http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Too-much-at-stake-to-fast-track-Trans-Pacific-pact-6251877.php <http://m.sfgate.com/news/article/Too-much-at-stake-to-fast-track-Trans-Pacific-pact-6251877.php>
Too much at stake to fast-track Trans-Pacific pact
By Sarah Rose and Art Pulaski |onMay 8, 2015
Global trade deals have a huge impact on California workers, our environment and the economy. As leaders of California organizations fighting for workers and environmental protection, we believe it’s in all of our interests to make sure that trade deals protect U.S. jobs, protect the environment and align with our goals to curb climate change, and that they don’t give multinational corporations unfair advantages or turn a blind eye to countries that abuse workers.

Democracy is dependent upon transparency and open, public debate. But fast-track legislation, also known as Trade Promotion Authority, allows corporate lobbyists and other power brokers to shape trade deals to their advantage while shielding the details from the public.

That’s why California leaders must say “no” to fast-tracking a huge trade deal like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The TPP is an expansive trade deal that the United States is negotiating with a dozen countries including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Right now, the TPP deal covering a staggering 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product is being negotiated in extreme secrecy by former corporate lobbyists, with little information available to the public or members of Congress about the impact on jobs, the environment and our economy. No drafts of TPP texts have been released. More than 600 corporate advisers are actively working to shape the agreement while the public is being kept in the dark. That’s unacceptable.

Previous trade agreements have failed miserably in living up to the promise of new jobs. In fact, the North American Free Trade Agreement cost the United States 650,000 jobs <http://www.epi.org/publication/nafta-legacy-growing-us-trade-deficits-cost-682900-jobs/>, according to the Economic Policy Institute. And not just any jobs, but good, family-supporting jobs that sustain our state’s middle class. NAFTA also led to an array of disastrous environmental outcomes ranging from a jump in greenhouse gas emissions <http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb09-18.pdf> to increased pesticide use  <http://ase.tufts.edu/gdae/pubs/rp/dp04nadalwisejuly04.pdf>to deforestation.

There’s no reason to believe the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement would be any different from previous trade deals that have ripped hundreds of thousands of California workers from the middle class and harmed the environment at home and in neighboring countries. In fact, based on what little information is available, the TPP would continue the failed status quo of previous agreements and introduce new problems for California, including copyright provisions that would stifle innovation in our state’s technology sector.

A joint analysis of the TPP’s leaked draft environmental chapter by the Sierra Club <http://action.sierraclub.org/site/DocServer/TPP_Enviro_Analysis.pdf?docID=14842>, Natural Resources Defense Council and World Wildlife Fund found that in its current state, the TPP could lead to increased stress on natural resources and species including trees, fish and wildlife. Equally worrisome are provisions that give corporations the right to sue a government for unlimited cash compensation — private, non-transparent tribunals — over virtually any law or policy that a corporation says will reduce its profits. Using similar rules in other free trade agreements, corporations such as Exxon Mobil and Dow Chemical have launched nearly 600 cases against nearly 100 governments. Dozens of cases attack commonsense environmental laws and regulations, such as regulations to protect communities and the environment from harmful chemicals or mining practices.

Protecting middle-class jobs and the environment should be a top priority for every member of Congress in California. We strongly urge California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein and every California member of the House of Representatives to reject fast-track legislation that keeps the public in the dark on a trade deal that has the potential to undercut our middle class, pollute the environment, hinder innovation and allow for global corporations and other countries to game the system to America’s disadvantage. There’s just too much at stake.

Sarah Rose is the CEO of the California League of Conservation Voters. Art Pulaski is the executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at www.sfgate.com. <http://www.sfgate.com./>
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