[CTC] More statements on TPP deal (batch 5)

Mon Oct 5 10:45:15 PDT 2015

Statements from Friends of the Earth, the AFL-CIO, Alliance for Retired Americans, CPATH, Coalition for a Prosperous America and Reps. Kaptur and Schakowsky...

The U.S. cuts an ugly deal on Trans Pacific trade agreement
Ironically results in “a big win for people and the planet”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today in Atlanta, Georgia the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries reached agreement on the Trans Pacific Partnership, a sweeping trade deal that, if adopted, would stymie environmental regulation and ramp up U.S. exports of climate-destroying fossil fuels.

The TPP deal was cut behind closed doors by Mike Froman, the U.S. Trade Representative and former Citi bank executive and Obama fundraiser. Froman faced a Hobson’s Choice in Atlanta: he could either close the deal by caving in to Japan and other negotiating partners, or he could walk away, maybe  losing his last chance for a deal with Japan. Froman chose to roll the dice and take the only deal he could get, making major concessions on autos, dairy and sugar and other issues, but preserving Wall Street’s demands and securing intellectual property protections for Big Pharma that will deny millions access to life saving drugs.

Erich Pica, President of Friends of the Earth had this statement.

Ambassador Froman struck an ugly deal in Atlanta and is going to have a hard time selling this to Congress and the American people. The compromises that struck will further enrage environmentalists and other progressive opposition, and threatens to undermine the razor thin majority that gave President Obama Fast Track trade authority. Friends of the Earth urges our members and members of Congress to oppose this bad deal.

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Friends of the Earth fights to create a more healthy and just world. Our current campaigns focus on promoting clean energy and solutions to climate change, ensuring the food we eat and products we use are safe and sustainable, and protecting marine ecosystems and the people who live and work near them.

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World to See How Bad TPP Is After Final Deal Reached

After negotiators reached a final deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka made the following statement:

We are disappointed that our negotiators rushed to conclude the TPP in Atlanta, given all the concerns that have been raised by American stakeholders and members of Congress. The Administration had a hard time reaching this deal for good reasons: it appears that many problematic concessions were made in order to finalize the deal. We ask the Administration to release the text immediately, and urge legislators to exercise great caution in evaluating the TPP. As we’ve said, rushing through a bad deal will not bring economic stability to working families, nor will it bring confidence that our priorities count as much as those of global corporations. We will evaluate the details carefully and work to defeat this corporate trade deal if it does not measure up.

Statement online here:  http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/World-to-See-How-Bad-TPP-Is-After-Final-Deal-Reached <http://www.aflcio.org/Press-Room/Press-Releases/World-to-See-How-Bad-TPP-Is-After-Final-Deal-Reached>
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Statement by Retiree Leader Richard Fiesta on the Transpacific Partnership Trade Agreement
October 05, 2015
For Immediate Release 
Statement by Retiree Leader Richard Fiesta
on the Transpacific Partnership Trade Agreement 

“The Alliance for Retired Americans is disappointed by the conclusion of the TPP negotiations in Atlanta. The media reports coming out of Atlanta suggest that this agreement protects corporations at the expense of working families and retirees.
“We are particularly concerned by the extremely lengthy time periods that life-saving biologics, specialty drugs that treat cancer, arthritis and other serious conditions, would be eligible for patent protections which drive up costs for seniors and all Americans. Americans already pay the highest prices for prescription drugs in the world. We will urge members of Congress to oppose the TPP if this deal will further increase drug prices.”
For more information on the Alliance, visit www.retiredamericans.org <http://www.retiredamericans.org/>.

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Contact: Lisa Cutler 202-637-5394 <tel:202-637-5394>, lcutler at retiredamericans.org <https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=lcutler@retiredamericans.org>

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CPATH - Center for Policy Analysis on Trade and Health
Bringing a Public Health Voice to Trade and Sustainable Development                415-922-6204 <tel:415-922-6204>

Trade officials from the 12 countries negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) announced today that they have reached an agreement. The final texts are expected to be available within weeks, and face contentious review by the public and policy-makers. The TPP has been negotiated in secret for 6 years among a stable roster of corporate interests and several different sets of political leadership.

Collective actions, including protests challenging the terms and process of the TPP and demanding progressive alternatives during the course of the negotiations, appear to have softened some of the worst provisions sought by corporations.  But the TPP remains a bad deal for public health. It will not create new wealth or jobs in the U.S.  It will drive race-to-the-bottom economics, and further undermine the public’s rights to regulate and to provide critical services.  Absent strong provisions to create and monitor effective labor rights in countries at all income levels, the agreement will exacerbate economic inequality. It will further enshrine the arrangements that entitle drug companies to gouge the U.S. public and impose these rules abroad. While some language may discourage the predatory use of trade language by the predatory tobacco industry, threats remain. 

Initial takes on key public health issues:

Tobacco control: Advocates around the globe have worked hard to stop tobacco companies from using trade charges to block country tobacco control laws and regulations like plain packaging. The US Trade Representative's summary <https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2015/october/summary-trans-pacific-partnership> of today's agreement states only that a country "may elect to deny the benefits of  Investor-State Dispute Settlement [ISDS] with respect to a claim challenging a tobacco control measure" of the country. The precise effects of this ambiguously worded compromise are unclear. Reportedly driven by Australia and Malaysia in the face of dogged opposition by U.S. corporations, it seems to leave in place significant threats. Two key concerns, based on recently leaked drafts:

1. Tobacco companies could still file ISDS charges if they assert the regulation is "discriminatory" to the trade interests of a particular country. For example, when the U.S. banned clove cigarettes, which are important in hooking kids, Indonesia filed a successful trade charge, as the main producer of clove cigarettes.

2. It still permits country-to-country trade challenges.

Medicine prices. Enshrining terms for patents and data exclusivity for biologics would give drug companies extra years to inflate prices without competition. This would hurt prospects for affordable prices in the U.S., damage existing systems in Australia and New Zealand, and pile extra costs on some lower-income TPP countries that don't have such rules.

Economic equality and social justice. The people of the U.S. and our allies around the world face real public health threats that demand real solutions, including building a more equitable economy and protecting the environment. We encourage policy-makers and the public to analyze the actual texts that will finally become public, and motivate policies that advance the public's health.

Next up for global trade negotiations are the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a proposed agreement among 24 countries, including the European Union and the United States.  Progressive organizations, advocates, and activists must formulate and advance proposals and positions that prioritize public health, human rights, and economic, social, and environmental justice as the hallmarks for global agreements.

Ellen R. Shaffer and Joe Brenner, Co-Directors, CPATH

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CPA Opposes TPP as Harming US Trade, Jobs and Economic Growth

The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement because it will harm American job creation, agricultural and goods production and our economic prosperity.

“US trade negotiators had no strategy to increase American net trade when conducting these negotiations,” said Michael Stumo, CEO of CPA. “Instead, they pursued a deal for the sake of getting a deal, regardless of the result.  The result is another negotiating loss instead of a win.”

We Have Poorly Performing Trade Deals with Most TPP Countries Already:The TPP agreement is promoted as a trade deal with over 40% of the global economy.  That assertion is largely absurd and should be ignored.  The US economy alone is 60% of the TPP countries total gross domestic product (GDP) or economic size.  We have existing and poorly performing trade agreements with seven TPP countries that consist of another 20% of the TPP economic size.  Those countries are Canada, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, Peru, Chile and Australia.  As a result, we are not “opening trade” with 80% of the TPP countries.  Instead, the TPP is a trade agreement on top of existing trade agreements.

No Economic Benefit Expected from other TPP Countries, Including Japan:  We have no trade agreements (except the World Trade Organization agreement) with the remaining five TPP countries constituting 20% of the economic size of all TPP countries.  But there is little reason to believe the US will gain net exports from those countries.  Four of the countries - Brunei, New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia - have GDPs smaller than Philadelphia.

The fifth country - with which we have no bilateral trade agreement - is Japan which constitutes 14% of the TPP countries’ GDP. However, Japan cannot - or will not - substantially increase the purchase of US goods for several reasons.  First, the yen has devalued by over 55% in three years.  This devaluation from Prime Minister Abe’s aggressive monetary strategy. The result is equivalent to a tariff on US goods and a subsidy to Japanese exports. The Japanese consumer’s purchasing power has been severely devalued.

Japan has increased it’s value added tax from 5% to 10% effective this month. This 5% consumption tax increase will be paid by US exporters when crossing the Japanese border.  In contrast, Japan’s average weighted tariff is a mere 2.5%. The US cannot win by negotiating tariff reductions when other countries then raise border adjustable consumption taxes.

Japan operates a nationalistic, partially closed economy strategy. They grew from post-World War II depression based upon net exports and spurring diverse industry growth under government strategic planning.  The country will not change to become a net importer of US goods after signing the TPP deal.

There are many other reasons the US congress and the public should oppose the TPP:

Ignores Balanced Trade and Domestic Growth: US trade bureaucrats negotiated the TPP without regard to the forty straight years of US trade deficits.  They also ignored the relative decline of US manufacturing market share in the world as compared to the growth of China’s and Europe’s global market share since 2000. Instead, the deal will spur continued decline in relation to other developed economies.

Korea Agreement Failure Repeated: The agreement doubles down on the model that produced the trade deal with South Korea. The US trade deficit with South Korea worsened by over 70% after that deal was implemented in 2012. Congress needs to find out why before approving new agreements.

Currency Manipulation Failure: The Administration refused to follow Congressional instructions on currency as set forth in the recently passed Trade Promotion Authority legislation. Currency devaluation, as Vietnam recently did, makes any trade deal concessions meaningless.

Central Planning of Outsourcing: The TPP negotiators agreed to manage the decline of US based manufacturing and agriculture including dairy, beef, and autos through deals on more import penetration to the US to displace our industry.

Windfall for China: Rules of Origin are weaker than prior agreements. A more substantial portion of goods can be made in non-party countries like China and still receive favorable trade treatment.  China conceded nothing to receive this misguided benefit. Instead of containing China, the TPP incentivizes more production in China and other non-party countries.

Globalizes the Legislative Process: The agreement harms US sovereignty by globalizing rules that should be dealt with by Congress regarding pharmaceuticals, health and safety laws, and many other regulatory standards. Industries now have one-stop-shopping with trade negotiators to get rule changes rather than asking Congress to consider the national interest.

Globalizes Courts: The TPP grants jurisdiction to global courts that foreign corporations can use to invalidate US federal, state and local rules and laws. The US federal and state courts set up by our constitutional system are avoided.

Tax Bait and Switch: The agreement allows other countries to raise border adjustable consumption taxes (value added taxes or goods and services taxes) to replace any tariff reductions or other concessions. Just as under NAFTA, CAFTA and European trade, American companies will still face similar export charge hurdles as tariffs are reduced but other border taxes rise.

The Coalition for a Prosperous America is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing the interests of over three million households through our agricultural, manufacturing and labor organization members.

http://www.prosperousamerica.org/ <http://www.prosperousamerica.org/?e=60899508850d7ae5ff8a80d0eada83f046b1c878&utm_source=prosperousamerica&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=151005_pr&n=1>
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Rep. Kaptur Issues Statement on Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal
Criticizes deal for failing to take serious steps on jobs or closed markets

Toledo, OH — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) responded today to news that Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiators announced the completion of a framework for the global trade deal:

"Our nation needs trade deals that create jobs in America and open closed markets abroad so we can sell our products there, not another deal negotiated by global elites that will outsource America’s jobs and fail to open closed markets. 

This deal will fail America again because critical issues such as automotive market access, currency manipulation, environmental standards, and patent protections for inventors don't meet the test of open, fair trade. Further, critical sectors including autos have been passed over or negotiated into side agreements that are notorious for not being enforced. How can Congress approve any agreement that threatens an industry so vital to America's economic future?

The TPP has been shrouded in secrecy from the start, and even now we don't have access to the full text. When the text finally does get to Congress, the elected representatives of the American people will have no chance to amend it. It will be rigged on a rule to throttle debate through Congress on a fast track timetable with no amendment allowed. This is particularly troubling for a deal that opens the floodgates to a transfer of power from the American people to global elites and state-run economies. Look at the millions of lost U.S. job and trillions of dollars of lost economic impact hollowing out these deals. Deals like this have wreaked havoc across our economy over the past quarter century of their existence: NAFTA, the Korea-US FTA, now TPP. It's the same playbook.

History has repeatedly shown us that massive global free trade deals outsource good jobs, drive down wages, dismantle American industries, weaken U.S. competitiveness, open the door to foreign market manipulation, and put U.S. working families on the path to poverty. I will continue to do all I can to stop this kind of dangerous job-killing deal.”

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Is a Bad Deal 

Rep. Schakowsky released the following statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement reached in Atlanta this morning.

I am extremely disappointed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement reached in secret sessions this weekend.  While I look forward to studying the specific language, I remain convinced that outline of the deal falls far short of the fair trade principles needed to improve the lives of workers, consumers and patients.

There are a number of problems with this agreement.  The failure to address currency manipulation that puts our businesses at risk is a glaring omission.  The creation of an Investor State Dispute Settlement process will allow corporations to challenge U.S. laws in an extra-judicial process.  Unfair competition will still harm American workers and the lack of enforcement of labor standards means overseas workers still will not be protected against abusive practices.

I am particularly concerned about the pharmaceutical provisions in the agreement.  I am deeply disturbed that our government stood alone in pushing for changes to existing trade laws to increase brand-name drug profits, block competition from generics and raise costs to consumers.  We all want to promote innovation, but life-saving drugs won’t actually save lives if they are unaffordable and out of reach of those who need them.  

Because the other TPP negotiators pushed back against the pressure from U.S. negotiators, there have been some improvements in the pharmaceutical provisions but the agreement still puts the lives of millions of patients around the world in danger.  As I have said many times, we should be doing everything possible to make access to essential medicines more affordable, not more expensive.

The twelve nations meeting behind closed doors in Atlanta have reached an agreement, but that does not mean that that TPP Agreement will ever go into effect.   Once its provisions are disclosed and subject to public review, I am convinced that the U.S. Congress will reject this deal and insist on a new agreement that promotes fair trade, not the interests of multinational corporations.  I am committed to doing everything I can to make that happen.

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