[CTC] Nine House Democrats Call For Quick Release Of TPP Text, Vow Opposition

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Inside US Trade

Nine House Democrats Call For Quick Release Of TPP Text, Vow Opposition

Posted: October 13, 2015

Nine House Democrats late last week called on the Obama administration to
release the negotiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement quickly,
and vowed to fight for the defeat of the agreement in Congress.

In their Oct. 9 press conference, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) signaled that
the opponents have begun their outreach to other members. “We had a meeting
two days ago, the place was packed, standing room only,” he said. “We have
just begun to fight....”

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) said the opponents will fight the TPP “to the very
end. You're not going to get us to roll over because we believe we can get
the votes to stop the agreement."

Participants in the press conference criticized the substance of the
agreement as well as what they see as USTR's lack of responsiveness in to
their demands for the quick release of the text. At the press conference,
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said that U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman
had reached out to the 28 Democrats who voted for a renewal of the
fast-track law earlier this year, but there had been no USTR engagement
with the opponents.

DeLauro and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) charged that the executive branch is
deliberately withholding the text to avoid the backlash it would produce.
“The administration has been saying it [TPP] is the most progressive trade
deal ever…but since it’s so good why won’t they show it to us yet?…Why do
we have to go the last moment and have the least amount of time to evaluate
this thing?”

He said if the deal were “so awesome,” the administration would release it.
“So I have a feeling that this is just a repeat of what we have seen in
other trade deals,” he said.

The lawmakers attacked the TPP for its lack of enforceable disciplines
against currency manipulation, data protection for biologics drugs that
they say will result in higher medicine prices, weak rules of origin,
counterproductive environmental standards.

They also charged that the new labor provisions which the administration is
touting as groundbreaking will not be enforced. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
said that in light of the administration's previous record of lagging
enforcement of labor provisions in free trade agreements, there is no
reason to believe it will enforce the labor obligations in TPP. Similarly,
Ellison said in light of the administration's failed promises of labor
improvements in Colombia, there is little hope its TPP promises will be
upheld. Given that the labor commitments Colombia took on in the context of
its FTA have not ended anti-union violence in that country, he said, “how
are we supposed to believe in these promises when they haven’t kept the
ones they said they would?”

In addition to these five members, the remaining four members at the press
conference were: Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), a member of the Ways and Means
Committee, Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), David Cicilline (D-RI) and Dan Kildee
(D-MI). All the participants voted against the fast-track renewal this year.

Doggett demanded that the consolidated TPP text be made available no later
than the Oct. 19 Canadian elections, because he said he heard the
government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper will make the text available at
that time.

He said that he has called on Froman “repeatedly this week to get us the
full text over here by Monday, including all the side agreements and
special secret deals so we can see what’s in it.”

A congressional aide said Doggett not only called Froman but also sent him
a letter on Oct. 6, asking for the “consolidated text, all side agreements,
including the consistency [labor] plans and annexes as well as other
documents concerning the implementation and enforcement."

He said that members of Congress want to be able to read the “fine print”
of the agreement, and the congressional aide said that Doggett is leading
the “transparency fight” on TPP for Democratic opponents.

The letter asked that Froman provide an explanation if he fails to release
the text in a timely fashion. “Though you have consistently avoided fully
responsive answers concerning access [to the TPP text] throughout this
year, I hope you will provide an immediate answer to this inquiry,” Doggett
wrote.

Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826
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