[CTC] More statements on TPP deal (batch 7)

Wed Oct 7 09:56:06 PDT 2015

Statements from the International Trade Union Confederation and Reps. Pascrell, Slaughter and Nolan...

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION
ITUC OnLine
074/061015

Pacific Trade Agreement a Recipe for Corporate Greed

Brussels, 6 October 2015 (ITUC OnLine): The ITUC has described the 12-country “Trans-Pacific Partnership” (TPP) trade deal announced on 5 October as a recipe for corporate greed.  While the final text of the agreement is still not publicly available, leaked texts have given rise to major concerns amongst trade unions and other civil society groups.

Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said, “Powerful corporations were given an inside track in the secretive negotiations of the TPP and their influence is clear in the outcome.  Yet again, governments have put the interests of finance and big business ahead of ordinary people, with more financial deregulation, longer patents on medicines at the expense of the public, and restrictions on digital freedoms. Corporations will be able to sue governments under the infamous ISDS dispute procedures; there are no direct remedies for workers.”

Negotiators rushed to complete the deal in time for a “yes or no” vote in the US Congress before the presidential election campaign is in full swing next year.

A labour chapter is included in the agreement. Trade unions put forward a comprehensive proposal to make such chapters more effective in guaranteeing workers’ rights and standards. Few ideas were taken up, and none which would have ensured that complaints see their day in court. While companies can directly launch ISDS proceedings to protect their profits, workers have to ask governments to intervene on their behalf.  “Labour enforcement of this type has only ever been used once, under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), against Guatemala. That case has already taken seven years, and still there is no final decision or compliance by the government,” said Burrow.

A leaked draft of the environmental chapter contained no enforcement mechanism and failed to take into account the need for action to mitigate climate change. 

During the negotiations, the US controversially watered down its criticism of Malaysia in its Trafficking in Persons report, in a move widely seen as a tactic to help push through the TPP deal http://www.ituc-csi.org/us-decision-on-people-trafficking <http://www.ituc-csi.org/us-decision-on-people-trafficking>.  While TPP-related labour compliance plans were developed for Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam, these will not come into force immediately, with a five-year delay in the case of Vietnam. No such plan was adopted for Mexico, where there are severe violations of ILO standards.

The TPP will constrain public procurement tenders with highly restrictive international rules that put an ill-conceived notion of “competitiveness” above public policy aims such as job creation, environmental protection and human and workers’ rights, when awarding contracts for procurement. Similarly, several governments have granted market access in public services and utilities that will jeopardise the quality of and public access to such services.

The agreement will also constrain governments’ ability to regulate through the establishment of
new procedures that aim at harmonising regulation across the twelve countries, with corporations again getting an inside track. 
“Lofty promises made by governments and business lobbies about job creation and living standards from this type of trade deal are a familiar refrain.  Unfortunately, the bold predictions have rarely proven to be true, with powerful multinationals the real beneficiaries,” said Burrow.

The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 162 countries and territories and has 328 national affiliates.
Follow us on the web: http://www.ituc-csi.org <http://www.ituc-csi.org/>  and http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI <http://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI>  
For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on: +32 2 224 02 10

====

Pascrell Statement on Announcement of Finalized Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), New Jersey’s only member of the House Ways and Means Committee charged with overseeing international trade policy, released the following statement today after it was announced that negotiators have finalized the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement.  The agreement is now subject to Congressional approval:

“The Department of Commerce report released today stating the U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in August only increases my concerns that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will deepen this gap at the expense of the American worker. We should not be fooled - TPP is not merely free trade, but rather a series of negotiated agreements in which industry winners and losers have been picked behind closed doors. 

“While I will await the final text of the agreement for a thorough review, I fear that the TPP threatens the future of industry and wage growth in the United States. Currency manipulation was not adequately addressed in this deal, hurting U.S. manufacturing and exports in measurable ways. The agreement also contains weak rules of origin, which could allow auto parts produced in China to indirectly benefit from tariff-free entry into U.S. markets. The intellectual property provisions in this agreement for American medical innovators do not meet even current U.S. standards.

“While we have been told about some progress in areas like labor standards in Vietnam and protecting public health protections across member states, I cannot support a bad deal for the American worker. I remain unconvinced that the TPP will create good-paying, middle-class jobs here at home.”

###

====

Slaughter Statement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Trade Agreement Will Put U.S. Workers and Consumers at Risk 

“I Have Never Seen a Trade Agreement That Has Benefited the American Manufacturer or the American Worker”

ROCHESTER, NY — After negotiators of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) announced they have reached an agreement, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter released the following statement:

“Congressional districts throughout the country cannot bear another trade deal that sends our jobs overseas to countries that ignore human rights violations while undermining our laws and public health here at home. During my time in Congress, I have never seen a trade agreement that has benefited the American manufacturer or the American worker, and everything I have seen about the Trans-Pacific Partnership suggests that it will be more of the same.

“Despite a bipartisan push by 158 Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives, the trade deal announced today will do next to nothing to address the largest trade barrier our manufacturers face, which is currency manipulation. As with past trade deals, a side agreement in the TPP related to currency manipulation is window dressing that is unlikely to be enforced at all and will do little to stem the flow of American jobs overseas. As with past trade deals, this will force American manufacturers to compete with foreign companies that receive unfair advantages from their governments.

“The TPP has been negotiated under a shroud of secrecy by multinational conglomerates, the financial service industry, and pharmaceutical companies that have one priority: their bottom line.  Now that an agreement has been reached, negotiators will no longer be able to keep the contents of this bad trade deal hidden from the public. As Americans learn more in the coming weeks and months about how the agreement will impact their day-to-day lives – with things like unsafe food imports and restricted access to affordable, life-saving biologic medicines – the momentum to defeat this bad trade deal will continue to grow.

“Opposition to this trade deal is widespread and diverse, which is clear from my discussions with members of the Australian and Canadian parliaments who are as concerned as I am with how this agreement will allow pharmaceutical companies and other corporate interests to challenge domestic laws before a panel of three unaccountable lawyers. Much like the rest of the deal, the dispute settlement procedures that have been under consideration would allow multinational corporations to undercut our clean air and water laws in pursuit of higher profits.

“In addition to failing to secure meaningful access to foreign markets for American manufacturers and undermining the rule of law in America, this bad trade deal pushes aside concerns with human rights and labor protections in order to protect corporate profits. While we should never accept a trade deal that ships good-paying American jobs to other countries, it is all the more abhorrent that this deal would benefit countries such as Malaysia and Brunei for the failure to address the scourge of modern day slavery or adherence to Sharia Law.”

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed trade deal between the United States and 11 other countries that could significantly undermine labor standards, environmental protections, and food safety. Congresswoman Slaughter has been an outspoken critic of the deal <https://goo.gl/p0Px6V> and has led opposition to the agreement <https://louise.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/slaughter-slams-republicans-dead-night-trade-introduction> on the House floor. Decrying the unfair trade deal that will cost American jobs <https://louise.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reps-slaughter-and-delauro-respond-ustr-fromans-testimony-congressional>, Slaughter has also called for stricter controls to fight currency manipulation <https://louise.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/delauro-slaughter-statement-need-enforceable-currency-manipulation> in order to protect American manufacturers.

###

===
Rep. Nolan

The Trans-Pacific Partnership

A race to the bottom we can’t afford

The simple truth is the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a race to the bottom.
Having reviewed the preliminary Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, and after attending weekly classified briefings for the past two years, it’s clear to me that there are no significant protections for American manufacturers and workers — for their wages, pensions and health care — or for our economy or our environment.

Unless Congress puts a stop to it, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will follow NAFTA in a race to the bottom that will send millions of our good American jobs overseas. As miners across Minnesota’s Iron Range continue to face devastating layoffs, the Trans-Pacific Partnership would allow the continued dumping of millions of tons of low-grade, foreign government-subsidized steel and other knock-offs of top quality American manufactured goods into our marketplace, doing irreparable damage to our economy.

Last June I took to the House floor to oppose “fast tracking” the Trans-Pacific Partnership through Congress.
To be clear, American workers can complete and win anywhere in the world — but not when forced to compete with nations like Vietnam and Malaysia where wages are low, worker benefits are virtually non-existent and environmental regulations are largely a joke.

In short, these negotiations have been conducted in secret by foreign governments and multi-national corporations for the sole benefit of wealthy executives and special interests — to the detriment of American workers, our environment, our food safety and our ability to innovate and advance human development.

Make no mistake about it — I will continue to do everything in my power to see that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is defeated.
====

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.citizenstrade.org/pipermail/ctcfield-citizenstrade.org/attachments/20151007/bb6679db/attachment.htm>