[CTC] Warren steps up criticism of the Pacific Rim trade deal

[Arthur Stamoulis]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2015/11/05/elizabeth-warren-criticizes-historic-pacific-rim-trade-deal/N4x0bcwFE6DweNhNcOe5sK/story.html

Warren steps up criticism of the Pacific Rim trade deal  
By Tracy Jan <https://www.bostonglobe.com/staff/jan> GLOBE STAFF  NOVEMBER 05, 2015
WASHINGTON -- Senator Elizabeth Warren said Thursday that she is prepared to do everything within her power to stop the historic Pacific Rim trade pact negotiated last month if it hurts American workers.

Warren, in an interview with the Globe, criticized the Obama administration for dragging its feet in posting details of the deal, which went up online early Thursday morning -- five weeks after a deal was announced. 

 <>“The administration has been briefing industry executives and lobbyists for a month and only just now letting the public and elected representatives see it,” she said in her first interview about the deal since a tentative agreement among 12 nations was reached. “If this agreement tilts the playing field further towards multinational corporations and against working families, I’m going to do what I can to make sure Congress doesn’t approve it.”

Warren, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat who has publicly sparred with the White House over the way the deal was negotiated, said she is withholding full judgment while she continues poring over details but flagged several “very serious concerns” on Thursday after an initial review.

“I went straight for the things I’ve been arguing about,” she said. 

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She criticized the deal for giving corporations too much power -- by continuing to allow multi-national corporations to settle disputes in a special trade tribunal and expanding the ability of large financial firms to challenge financial rules.

“This is unprecedented for a multi-lateral trade deal,” said Warren, who first flagged her concern in a letter last December to U.S. trade representative Michael Froman. “Banking regulations will be measured by the same low standards used in other corporate areas, which means big financial institutions will have a much better opportunity to challenge regulations they don’t like.”

The deal, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, bars tobacco companies from using the trade tribunals to sue countries that pass anti-smoking laws -- a provision Warren praised. But she said that provision just further proves her point.

“This is a clear admission by the administration that companies can use and have used the investor-state dispute settlement process to weaken regulations,” she said. “Tobacco regulations are very important, but so are rules against polluting rivers, rules to stop another financial crisis, rules to make nuclear power safer. The administration needs to explain why every other industry can still use ISDS to challenge public interest rules in this agreement.”

Warren said she does not think the agreement go far enough in enforcing labor, public health and environmental standards. 

“Even in the face of overwhelming violations of these standards in the past, this administration and past administrations have not acted to enforce the standards,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything in this agreement that will change this broken process.”

The pact is the largest regional trade deal in history, covering nearly 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product. President Obama on Thursday officially informed Congress of the deal; he must now wait at least 90 days before he could sign it. Congress is not expected to vote on the deal until sometime next year.

The deal has caused a rift among Democrats, with presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, the frontrunner, and Senator Bernie Sanders coming out against the deal shortly after it had been negotiated as they court labor endorsements. 


Tracy Jan can be reached at tracy.jan at globe.com <mailto:tracy.jan at globe.com>. Follow her on Twitter @TracyJan <http://twitter.com/TracyJan>.
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