[CTC] TPP Approval Early Next Year? (plus one more)

Mon Nov 16 05:29:54 PST 2015

Two articles below…

Washington Trade Daily
Volume 24, Number 228 Monday, November 16, 2015

TPP Approval Early Next Year?
President Obama said Friday he thinks lawmakers should approve the TransPacific Partnership
agreement early next year once the next session of Congress convenes (WTD, 11/13/15).

The President spoke after a meeting with former national security officials from both Democratic
and Republican Administrations. This week he will be in Asia for meetings with other TPP leaders and
the heads of state of other Asian countries.

Mr. Obama said that he and the former top-ranking officials agreed that “if we fail to get the
TransPacific Partnership done, if we do not create the architecture for high-standards trade and
commerce in this region, then that void will be filled by China. It will be filled by our economic
competitors. They will make the rules, and those rules will not be to our advantage.”

Attending the meeting were former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Henry
Kissinger and James Baker; former Defense Secretary William Cohen and former chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen.

The former officials “believe that our economic prosperity and our national security cannot be
separated,” the President said. “And if we are going to be a serious player in this critical region of the
world, then we’ve got to get the economics right and we’ve got to get the national security right. That’s
why all of us agree that the TransPacific Partnership agreement that we have forged is so important and
that it is critical for Congress to act.”

US To Play Active Role

Thanks to the TPP, countries in the Asia-Pacific region recognize that the United States intends
to play an active role in the region and to promote high standards for trade, the President added.

US Trade Representative Michael Froman made a similar argument in an interview Friday aired
on National Public Radio. The United States is not the only country negotiating trade deals in the
region, he said. China is working on a trade deal with 16 countries that does not have the same high
standards as the TPP – there are no protections for workers and the environment, no commitment to the
free flow of data across borders. “And the question is, what is the better world for American workers?
.... It’s got to be the TPP world than the world in which TPP is not there and these other initiatives
move forward,” he commented

Mr. Froman defended the TPP against critics that say the investor-state dispute settlement
mechanism allows corporations to undermine countries’ regulations – particularly dealing with public
health and safety. The provision does not create any substantive rights beyond what exists now in US
law. The only recourse for a company that wins a dispute is compensation – the same outcome that
would be available if the case were handled in a US court. A law or regulation could not be changed
unless Congress chooses to do so, according to the USTR.

The TPP raises the standard for when a claim could be brought under the investor state system,
Mr. Froman stated. A claimant must prove a violation of international law. A company cannot sue
simply because it lost profits or a regulation has changed.

http://www.ibtimes.com/political-capital/obama-touts-trade-pact-former-government-officials-linked-industries-would-benefit

Obama Touts Trade Pact With Former Government Officials Linked to Industries That Would Benefit
By  David Sirota <http://www.ibtimes.com/reporters/david-sirota>  @davidsirota <http://www.twitter.com/davidsirota>  d.sirota at ibtimes.com <mailto:d.sirota at ibtimes.com>  
Andrew Perez <http://www.ibtimes.com/reporters/andrew-perez>  @AndrewPerezDC <http://www.twitter.com/AndrewPerezDC>  andrew.perez at ibtimes.com <mailto:andrew.perez at ibtimes.com>  on November 13 2015 2:26 PM EST

President Obama’s meeting Friday with a bipartisan group of former top government officials is designed <http://t.sidekickopen03.com/e1t/c/5/f18dQhb0S7lC8dDMPbW2n0x6l2B9nMJW7t5XX48qSr-vN8q-c7jRrT3HW5vw5gT56dNscf1lJDDT02?t=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2015%2F11%2F13%2Fus%2Fpolitics%2Fobama-pushes-new-pacific-trade-pact-ahead-of-asia-trip.html&si=4710579288145920&pi=ccc59f3c-573d-49ea-df24-0c754ecaa9a1> to stress the Trans-Pacific Partnership is supported by top former diplomats and national security experts. But those icons aren’t necessarily disinterested voices: They currently maintain ties to industries with a financial interest in the controversial 12-nation trade deal.

While Obama has publicly criticized the so-called “revolving door” <https://www.whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/actions/revolving-door> between government and business, the headliners attending Friday’s meeting are some of the best-known government officials who now help corporations influence government. They include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, former joint chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, and former Secretary of State James Baker.

-- Albright is currently the chair <http://www.albrightstonebridge.com/team/madeleine-k-albright> of Albright Stonebridge, which describes itself <http://www.albrightstonebridge.com/about-us> as a “ strategic advisory and commercial diplomacy firm” focused on helping corporate clients “navigate international markets.” The firm’s East Asia team -- which operates in countries involved in the TPP -- says it represents “clients throughout the region in a wide variety of sectors -- from consumer goods and retail, to financial services, life sciences, and information and communications technology.” The Obama administration has said <https://ustr.gov/tpp/Summary-of-US-objectives> the TPP is designed to provide “new and meaningful market access for goods and services” among member countries. Albright also runs a private investment fund, Albright Capital, whose SEC forms <http://www.albrightcapital.com/images/ACM%20Form%20ADV%20Part%202A%20-%20Final%203-16-15%20(with%20Funds%20only).pdf> say it has “a primary focus on securities of companies located in or primarily doing business in emerging market countries.” The TPP aims to strengthen foreign investors’ rights in Asia’s emerging markets -- including empowering <http://www.citizen.org/TPP-investment-map>those investors to challenge domestic laws in international tribunals.

-- Mullen is currently a board member of General Motors <http://www.gm.com/company/board-of-directors/michael-mullen> -- which is a member of the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP and has lobbied <http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldxmlrelease/2015/2A/300767356.xml> members of Congress on the trade deal. He is also a senior adviser <http://www.provequity.com/team/michael-g-mullen> at Providence Equity Partners -- a private equity firm that does business in Asia <http://www.provequity.com/contact/singapore>.

-- Scowcroft’s eponymous consulting firm has a partnership <http://www.scowcroft.com/mclarty-associates> with McLarty Associates, a company that advises <http://maglobal.com/southeast-asia/> U.S. companies on how to navigate business environments in foreign countries, including some that are part of the TPP. The McLarty Associates website touts the firm’s work helping “an iconic American company to successfully build a $250 million production facility in Malaysia for export throughout the region as well as to South Asia and the Middle East.” Malaysia’s inclusion in the TPP has generated <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/malaysia-human-trafficking-tpp_55b66521e4b0224d8832fe28> controversy, based on the country’s poor record on human trafficking.

-- Baker is a senior partner in the law and lobbying firm Baker Botts, with a focus <http://www.bakerbotts.com/people/b/baker-james-a-iii#0> on “cross-border transactions.” His firm has a substantial energy practice, drawing top ratings <http://www.bakerbotts.com/news/2015/06/baker-botts-earns-top-ranking-2015> last year for its work on behalf of oil and gas companies and clients with liquefied natural gas projects. Environmental groups say <https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/uploads-wysiwig/TPP-LNG_Factsheet_Updated.pdf> the TPP will increase approvals of liquified natural gas exports. The lobbyists at Baker’s law firm represent <http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldxmlrelease/2015/3A/300765737.xml> the U.S. subsidiary of the global offshore drilling company, Noble Corp., which has an office <http://www.noblecorp.com/contact> in TPP-member country Singapore. Baker’s firm has also lobbied <http://disclosures.house.gov/ld/ldxmlrelease/2015/Q3/300762838.xml> for Akzo Nobel Polymer Chemicals on tariff issues.
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