[CTC] CTC Statement on the TPP’s Unlikely Future

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Statement on the TPP’s Unlikely Future
By Arthur Stamoulis, Executive Director, Citizens Trade Campaign

Arthur Stamoulis, executive director of Citizens Trade Campaign, recently wrote the piece “No, Trump Didn’t Kill the TPP — Progressives Did.” <https://medium.com/@citizenstrade/no-trump-didnt-kill-the-tpp-progressives-did-884b534542d#.wztflefst>  He issued the following statement in response to White House officials' signals that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is unlikely to be completed <http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-administration-gives-up-on-pacific-trade-deal-1478895824> during the Obama presidency:  

"Thanks to year of hard work by countless activists around the globe, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is extremely unlikely to move forward during this session of Congress.  

"Negotiated behind closed doors with the aid of hundreds of corporate lobbyists, the TPP epitomized the type of back-room dealmaking that preferences corporate elites over working families — the very thing that Americans and so many others have been revolting against in recent years.  The proposal's failure is good news for anyone concerned with good-paying jobs, a healthy environment and human rights.  

"Unfortunately, we’ll need to remain vigilant to ensure that the TPP, or something like it, isn’t revived in the years to come.  Despite President-elect Trump’s opposition to the TPP on the campaign trail, he is also someone who has said that American workers are overpaid, that climate change is a hoax and who has offshored the production of goods made in his name to authoritarian regimes overseas.  Already, four of the five House members appointed to his transition team are people who voted to “fast track” the TPP.  Fair trade advocates have considerable work ahead of us.

"The most important lesson to take from this fight as we look to the years ahead is that, even when a President of the United States, Congressional leaders and corporate lobbyists are united against us, progressives can defeat their backwards agenda by uniting together across issue areas and across borders.  

"Citizens Trade Campaign is deeply appreciative of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals in the United States and beyond who worked to defeat the TPP.  We will continue working together for policies that put people and the planet ahead of corporate profits."  

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Citizens Trade Campaign (CTC) is a national coalition of labor, environmental, family farm, consumer and faith organizations working together to improve international trade policy.  
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