Commentary

Stop Obama's Corporate-Friendly Trade Pact

W

e were raised on Jewish
dreams: "Justice, justice
shall you pursue!" Make
the world a better place. Just courts
are essential. We are the Earth's stew-
ards. Prize your health. Make a good
living.
Now, imagine an America where
more well-paying jobs are outsourced
... where food, including from coun-
tries with lower food safety stan-
dards, cannot be labeled with country
of origin ... where water safety and
environmental safeguards won't hold
up in court ... where legislators fear
passing laws to protect us because
corporations successfully sue govern-
ments for threatening profits.
Is this a futuristic movie script? No,
these are some projected impacts of
the Transpacific Partnership. TPP is a
free-trade agreement that is currently
being negotiated in secrecy among
the U.S. and 11 other countries, rep-
resenting roughly 40 percent of the
global economy.
In this agreement, your family's
quality of life will be collateral dam-
age. For Jewish dreamers, TPP is a
nightmare.

As a trade agreement, TPP's terms
rights, environmental and other orga-
would be binding on all 12 countries,
nizations, per www.citizenstrade.org .
meaning TPP would override U.S. fed-
Most egregiously, TPP threatens
eral, state and local laws.
our food labeling, water safety, work-
The only Americans privy to the
place safety, health, environmental
text are President Obama, the U.S
and other laws through Investor-
trade representative and 600 corpo-
State Dispute Resolution. ISDR allows
rate lobbyists.
private tribunals to enforce TPP
The terms aren't avail-
completely separate from
able to the public. Even
U.S. courts. With corporate
members of Congress
attorneys rotating as judges,
and senators cannot fully
no appeals and no calling
review the text. After
witnesses, corporations can
getting to read parts of
legitimately win millions of
TPP, Congressman Alan
our tax dollars because a law
Grayson, D-Fla., wrote,
"threatens a corporation's
The TPP is nicknamed
profit potential."
'NAFTA on steroids.' Now
Accountability watchdog
that I've read it, I can
Sum of Us reports ISDR
see why. I can't tell you
is currently being used by
Lisa Gold wag
what's in the agreement
"tobacco giant Philip Morris
Kassn er
because the U.S. Trade
to [sue] Australia for bil-
Representative calls
lions of dollars in lost profits
it classified. But I can tell you two
... because the government took
things about it: There is no national
action to reduce teenage smoking.
security purpose in keeping this text
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is suing
secret. This agreement hands the sov- Canada for $500 million because
ereignty of our country over to corpo-
Canada has laws to keep essential
rate interests."
drugs affordable."
Most U.S. press avoids expos-
Lori Wallach, Public Citizen's Global
ing TPP. Our
Trade Watch director, warns that
knowledge
under TPP, 17,000 international cor-
comes from
porations could sue U.S. government
leaks. Wikileaks
bodies, too.
published the
Regarding banking, TPP "would roll
intellectual
back financial regulations needed to
property chapter avoid another crisis," per www.
in November. It
exposethetpp.org .
includes longer
Whether our children will be finan-
drug patents,
cially better off than we are is anoth-
limiting access
er critical concern. Millions of jobs
to potentially
have already been lost through WTO,
life-saving,
NAFTA, CAFTA and trade agreements
affordable drugs. with China and Korea. A study by the
Per Electronic
non-partisan Center for Economic and
Frontier
Policy Research projects 90 percent
Foundation, its
of Americans will experience a wage
"copyright and
decrease if TPP passes.
digital privacy
Madison, Wis., and Berkeley, Calif.,
provisions ...
have declared themselves "TPP-Free
threaten millions
Zones." Other cities are pursuing
of users' rights."
similar resolutions, requiring citizen
Only five of
support for passage. But the fate of
29 chapters are
the TPP depends on Congress.
about trade.
Congress — the House and Senate
What lurks in
— votes to approve trade agreements,
the others?
and it's Congress' constitutional
TPP is
right and responsibility to negotiate
opposed by
terms. It has consummated hundreds
Sierra Club, AFL-
of them. But for TPP, Obama has
CIO, and many
asked Congress for Trade Promotion
U.S. labor, con-
Authority ("Fast Track"). By approv-
sumer, human
ing this cunning Nixon-era scheme,

Congress would willingly forfeit its
rights to question and negotiate the
terms for this and future trade agree-
ments.
The Fast Track bill, misnamed
"The Bipartisan Trade Priorities Act
of 2014," has been proposed. (No
Congressional Democrat was willing
to sign it.) Concerned citizens are
striving to stop the bill's passage. As
of November, 152 House Democrats
and 27 House Republicans committed
in writing to voting against it. This is
not the required majority, however, to
block its passage. Those opposed may
change their position, besieged as
they are by pro-TPP lobbyists.
TPP is too critical for secrecy and a
rubber-stamp vote.
The vote is expected as early as
February. Now is the time to share
your views on TPP and Fast Track
with the trade staff person at your
congressmember's and senators'
Washington offices. See www.
contactingthecongress.org .

❑

Lisa Goldwag Kassner is a member of the

Los Angeles Jewish community and a

volunteer coordinator for the California Label

GMOs campaign. She may be reached at

labelgmos80@gmail.com .

Dry Bones MID N E G NIZT

DID YOU HEAR
THAT MR.
PRESIDENT?

standing
guard ... _..

... For Israel
And Our Jewish
Community

Former Canadian Justice Minister
Irwin Cotler has charged recently
that UNRWA, the refugee agency for
Palestinians, engages in incitement
and misrepresentation of the truth.
He calls for the Jewish community and
all friends of Israel to complain to U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The
address is 760 U.N. Plaza, New York, N.Y.

10017.

Prepared by Allan Gale, Jewish
Community Relations Council of
Metropolitan Detroit

© January 2014, Jewish Renaissance Media

DryBonesBlog.com

January 30 • 2014

47