By Deirdre Fulton at CommonDreams.org
“Worse than anything we could’ve imagined.”
“An act of climate denial.”
“Giveaway to big agribusiness.”
“A death warrant for the open Internet.”
“Worst nightmare.”
“A disaster.”
As expert analysis of the long-shrouded, newly publicized Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) final text continued to roll out on Thursday, consensus formed around one fundamental assessment of the 12-nation pact: It’s worse than we thought.
“From leaks, we knew quite a bit about the agreement, but in chapter after chapter the final text is worse than we expected with the demands of the 500 official U.S. trade advisers representing corporate interests satisfied to the detriment of the public interest,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.
In fact, Public Citizen charged, the TPP rolls back past public interest reforms to the U.S. trade model while expanding problematic provisions demanded by the hundreds of official U.S. corporate trade advisers who had a hand in the negotiations while citizens were left in the dark.
On issues ranging from climate change to food safety, from open Internet to access to medicines, the TPP “is a disaster,” declared Nick Dearden of Global Justice Now.
“Now that we’ve seen the full text, it turns out the job-killing TPP is worse than anything we could’ve imagined,” added Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America. “This agreement would push down wages, flood our nation with unsafe imported food, raise the price of life-saving medicine, all the while trading with countries where gays and single mothers can be stoned to death.”
‘Act of Climate Denial’
Major climate action groups, including 350.org and the Sierra Club, were quick to point out that the text was notable as much for what it didn’t say as what for what it did. “The TPP is an act of climate denial,” said 350 policy director Jason Kowalski on Thursday. “While the text is full of handouts to the fossil fuel industry, it doesn’t mention the words climate change once.”
What it does do, however, is give “fossil fuel companies the extraordinary ability to sue local governments that try and keep fossil fuels in the ground,” Kowalski continued. “If a province puts a moratorium on fracking, corporations can sue; if a community tries to stop a coal mine, corporations can overrule them. In short, these rules undermine countries’ ability to do what scientists say is the single most important thing we can do to combat the climate crisis: keep fossil fuels in the ground.”
Furthermore, Friends of the Earth (FOE) said in its response to the final text, the agreement “is designed to protect ‘free trade’ in dirty energy products such as tar sands oil, coal from the Powder River Basin, and liquefied natural gas shipped out of West Coast ports.” The result, FOE warned, will be “more climate change from carbon emissions across the Pacific.”
“President Obama has sold the American people a false bill of goods,” said FOE president Erich Pica. “The Trans-Pacific Partnership fails President Obama’s pledge to make the TPP an environmentally sound trade agreement.”
International observers were no less critical. Matthew Rimmer, a professor of intellectual property and innovation law at Australia’s Queensland University of Technology and trade policy expert, told Fairfax Media it looks like U.S. trade officials have been “greenwashing” the agreement.
“The environment chapter confirms some of the worst nightmares of environmental groups and climate activists,”Rimmer told the news outlet. “The agreement has poor coverage of environmental issues, and weak enforcement mechanisms. There is only limited coverage of biodiversity, conservation, marine capture fisheries, and trade in environmental services.”
‘Attack Sensible Food Safety Rules’
With its provisions that tie the hands of food inspectors at international borders and give more power to biotechnology firms, “the TPP is a giveaway to big agribusiness and food companies,” said Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch executive director. Such corporate entities, she said, want to use trade deals like the TPP “to attack sensible food safety rules, weaken the inspection of imported food, and block efforts to strengthen U.S. food safety standards.”
Last month, the Center for Food Safety outlined the top five reasons “eaters should be worried about Obama’s new trade deal.” At the top of the list was the TPP’s ability to undermine efforts to label GMO foods. “More broadly,” the Center wrote in October, “any U.S. food safety rules on labeling, pesticides, or additives that [are] higher than international standards could be subject to challenge as ‘illegal trade barriers.’”
Indeed, according to Food & Water Watch, the final text released Thursday indicates that under a TPP regime,“agribusiness and biotech seed companies can now more easily use trade rules to challenge countries that ban GMO imports, test for GMO contamination, do not promptly approve new GMO crops or even require GMO labeling.”
“The TPP food safety and labeling provisions are worse than expected and bad news for American consumers and farmers,” said Hauter. “Congress must reject this raw deal that handcuffs food safety inspectors and exposes everyone to a rising tide of unsafe imported food.”
‘Death Warrant for the Open Internet’
“If U.S. Congress signs this agreement despite its blatant corruption, they’ll be signing a death warrant for the open Internet and putting the future of free speech in peril,” stated Evan Greer, Fight for the Future (FFTF) campaign director.
Among the “several sections of grave concern” identified by FFTF are those covering trademarks, pharmaceutical patents, copyright protections, and “trade secrets.”
Section J, which addresses Internet Service Providers (ISPs) “is one of the worst sections that impacts the openness of the Internet,” according to the digital rights group, which explained further:
“This section requires Internet Service Providers to play ‘copyright cops’ and assist in the enforcement of copyright takedown requests — but it does not require countries to have a system for counter-notices, so a U.S company could order a website to be taken down in another country, and there would be no way for the person running that website to refute their claims if, say, it was a political criticism website using copyrighted content in a manner consistent with fair use.
Section J makes it so ISPs are not liable for any wrongdoing when they take down content—incentivizing them to err on the side of copyright holders rather than on the side of free speech.”
‘Public Review Is Needed’
Like-minded groups in Canada, where newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been on the job for all of one day, are sounding similar alarms.
Citing concerns about how the deal would impact human rights, health, employment, environment, and democracy, the Council of Canadians on Thursday demanded a full public consultation—including an independent human rights, economic, and environmental review of the document—before Trudeau goes any further. The group expressed particular concern over investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, which allow corporations to sue states for lost profits, asking that they be excised from the deal.
“Trudeau is under a lot of pressure to adopt this deal as soon as possible, with calls already coming in from U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese President Shinto Abe,” acknowledged the Council’s national chairperson, Maude Barlow. “But a thorough public review is needed before he can establish whether the TPP is truly in Canada’s interest.”
Or anyone else’s, for that matter. You can read the full text of the TPP here.
This article (Our Worst Nightmares Confirmed: Full Text of TPP Finally Revealed) originally appeared on CommonDreams.org and is licensed Creative Commons 3.0.
By ”food” it means (anything) that may be digested without any ”physically” observable symptoms. abrasive agents that may have once been used in cosemetics. Anon Digest.
Fuck the government, we need to take our government back.
We are always signing our rights away, STAY OUT OF OUR PERSONAL LIVES,
Well, do you want to “fuck the government”? Or do you want to be the government? Sounds like the latter. The best way to fuck the government is to ignore it (as best you can) and not participate in your enslavement.
Haven’t you noticed no matter who you vote for, and no matter who wins, nothing really changes for the better? “This is the most important election in generations! This time your vote will make a difference! I promise!” Do you fall for it every time? Are you still surprised when voting for the lesser of two evils results in more evil? Are you shocked when, in spite of what your candidate says, once in office he does the same things he spent the campaign criticizing his opponent for doing?
Do you keep doing the same thing every election cycle, expecting different results each time?
In any election, the only winner is the government. You and liberty are the consistent losers. With everyone voting for someone who promises to hurt the other guy on their behalf, America gets further and further away from what it was established to be.
I’m not telling you to stop voting if voting makes you feel as though you are doing something. I’m not telling you to reject politics. What I am telling you is you probably shouldn’t be shocked when you get the result you keep voting for.
If voting actually mattered, do you think the governments would actually let us vote!!
Voting is rigged and always has been. The elite just put in who ever suits them. If they can’t then they start a war to displace the elected government to put in a puppet of their choosing!! We are ALL born as debt slaves, what’s new. Banks don’t own any money. They issue IOU’s to the debt slaves and when we take the debt on it becomes real money. Until this point it does not and has never existed. We, society are the fools and we hail to the puppet masters till we die. I am not going down without a fight. I will not go quietly into the night. A revolution is coming, are YOU ready??
Or is it that a whole lot of people believe the media and vote for the loudest moron and those who wouldn’t vote that way don’t vote? Maybe if everyone who didn’t vote voted we would be able to make a statement?
It’s gotta be rigged i mean George Bush? You knew he was an idiot from the start, if they censor the internet you will need to learn coding and try bypass theyre censors but honestly fuck them people will riot or protest or full on fight
Yes I Am!!!!
Voting isn’t rigged. It doesn’t have to be. The shadow Gov’t controls everyone man or woman in power. The POTUS go into office with the intent Fix the mess of Previous POTUS. Once in office “they” “Remind you” of your kids your family’s Well being if you don’t do as instructed. You don’t have a choice, Unless the person in power is willing to risk his/her self or family and for USA. Anyone of you would do the same. The damage is done already. The only way out is to take our Gov’t back is.. forcefully Taking it back.
Ignoring it is NOT wise. Like any bully, ignore what he does and his behavior gets worse. The TPP is going to KILL PEOPLE. How do you ignore that?? It’s part of the Depopulation Agenda. It’s giving the “elite’s” corporations PERMISSION to poison us! And as Paul T just below this says, voting is rigged. No doubt growing your own food and trading with others for a balanced diet will also be illegal. Can’t have consumers competing with corporations, after all.
Question: What would the Founders have done?
Spoken like someone with privilege. It’s easy to say don’t vote when you don’t have men voting on what you can and can’t do with your body, as they do to women.
Says the feminazi/sjw retard. Women actually have more privilege than men, and all feminist “studies and statistics” are bullshit and made of anecdotal evidence. And having PTSD from messages, people talking, and someone not agreeing with you is absolute bullshit. Those that get “triggered” are just immature bitches and manchildren that refuse to face reality head on.
Get triggered bitch!
A direct democracy would be much harder for lobbyists to manipulate than a representative democracy, which is damn easy.
Dont torture yourself we’re shape and act like it … Humans rights keep being here after your death… We are the weak they remaing strong … take the knowledge of the present and remember the past, give it to your children and make them strong enough to erase it…
I couldn’t agree more.
We are the people of UNITED STATES of America we should be the people making changes ant this a free country but every thang we do is being watched or getting into are private life we the people who vote to get them in to be who they are know we us should be able to do what we want if it wasn’t us nobody will be the president or the government so we Americans should take a stand and stop this getting into are private life this is the land of freedom ant it or are they going to take that away before you know it we won’t be able to do nothing don’t let them take are rights away like they are trying to do now thanks we the people of UNITED STATES Of America can we say God bless America
We just have to keep fighting! Go forward…
Keep fighting? Most if not all of us can’t do shit about it! We don’t have a chance! What can we do against global elite huh? A lot of uneducated morons have no idea about what’s going on. If we try to tell them, they wont believe. If we try more, we’ll get fucked by the government. We are like ants under a magnifying glass!
yes man, thats the spirit
Keep fighting? Where’s that happening at? All i see is loads of brain dead half wits walking around w/personal radiation devices stuck damn near down there throats..Mark my words in or around a decade or so were gonna begin seeing the symptoms from these betrayals..Back on track this entire country is blinded & have no realistic connection to the earth on which w/share..No clear understanding of the real consequences that we face..The total population seems to be allowing its own ending..And has been for many years now..And nothing less then a total effort will matter.We must come together now & show unity & strength & most important understanding..
250.000 people protested in germany-berlin against the TTIP several weeks ago. it was a huge protest
And how much good did it do? We’re WAY past protest.
Currently there’s a petition being held for a referendum against TTIP and CETA in the Netherlands. Hopefully we reach or exceed the minimal signatures to make it that far. It’s also for the best of our own government, despite its impopularity.
“A Republic, if you can keep it.”
Like sheep to the slaughter, our shepherds are wolves in suits. The more we push the more they herd, the more we fight the harder they laugh. A government reformation would only replace one evil with another. Whether we can admit it or not change won’t happen without a total meltdown first. Sadly people are to scared to lose materialistic things to look at the bigger picture, our grandchildren will ask us about when the air was breathable, and those of us left won’t remember.
that so bloody true
I’m reading the TTP pdf right now. It’s not what this article shows, at least, not in the enviromental issues. I quote from the text one of the articles in Enviromental matter:
“Article 20.4: Multilateral Environmental Agreements
1. The Parties recognise that multilateral environmental agreements to which they are party play an important role, globally and domestically, in protecting the environment and that their respective implementation of these agreements is critical to achieving the environmental objectives of these agreements. Accordingly, each Party affirms its commitment to implement the multilateral environmental agreements to which it is a party.
2. The Parties emphasise the need to enhance the mutual supportiveness between trade and environmental law and policies, through dialogue between the Parties on trade and environmental issues of mutual interest, particularly with respect to the negotiation and implementation of relevant multilateral environmental agreements and trade agreements”.
Of course, I need to keep investigating with the help of some friends/family who know more about financials and economics than me. But for what I say, it’s not necessary bad for the enviroment. I haven’t found anything about fracking/fossil fuels yet, so I can have a conclusion about TTP yet.
Hell no, don’t be tricked by those words. They say nothing. Don’t you get that they just say they’ll keep agreements that are made? What else? Why make an agreement, if you don’t wanna keep it?
They only say to keep agreements, but they don’t tell which exactly, what’s in them. Maybe you also recognised, that the yearly world global meeting shit-thing never produces real results? Which agreements? The environment needs NEW agreements.
It sounds too vague to me. The premiere of BC says fracking is good for us. She doesn’t say anything about the toxic chemicals that are being forced deep under ground. We were lied to. I heard only water was being used for fracking. People are dying from the toxic water they drink from their water taps. When politicians constantly lie and bury evidence of harm to people, do you honestly think that useless document about the environment will save anyone. Think about what they are not saying.
It’s a wrap America. Time for people to start thinking about moving outta here. It’s becoming 1984 real fast.
From the look of things, we’re in quite a mess, aren’t we? So, what is there to do? Just go on our merry way until everything comes to a grinding halt? Seems like the only choice that we have! We’re not in control. We may think we are “paddling our own canoes……or dreaming the dreams we want to accomplish…..but when you really come down to it, we’re all simply “going through the motions.” Kinda, sad, huh?
its a breaking point in our history as a humanity, maybe we can end being slaves, or maybe will be finally free without this people or in whatever, a secret talked in several voices aint more a secret.
The TPP levels the playing field by allowing American made products to be sold in asian markets. Everything sold in America is made in China but American products are not sold in Asia markets. This is how American businesses can expect to benefit from this legislation it open the doors of America to the worlds second biggest economy. Something we did not have before the TPP.
Another fucking marrionete who make exactly what those PIGS tell him!
Yeah but no, seriously, doesn’t the government already know that the internet is no man’s land. They will NEVER control it, no matter how many times they try to restrict it it will be back better than ever. I really thought after the numerous attempts they made(if you recall ACTA was one of them) that they would have learned by now…
Americans, as i see it from across the pond in the UK, you constituted the Personal Ownership of Guns and the right to bare arms against a Government that betrays its people, well I’d act soon before it’s too late, Bernie Sanders may live up to his word, but don’t count on it. We here in the UK feel exactly the same as you guys, enough is enough, our Revolution here is gathering momentum, we are backing a man called Jeremy Corbyn of the Labour Party who seems to be of a similar character to Bernie, however we can’t win till 2020 elections, however your election is round the corner. We are watching what goes on in the US very closely, so good luck with Bernie, if he lets you down, then you guys have the Guns, get organised in communities and be prepared for another civil war, this time its the Haves vs The Have Nots, we can’t own guns here, but rest assured if we see Revolution in the US we will support you in the UK and do likewise. This will have a Global cascade effect, Don’t let your loved ones join the Police or Army to be used against you, get off grid from all corporations, and don’t let them replace Natural free Grain with GMO copywritten and owned Food. Good Luck America, the world is watching and waiting! Get Organised!
Bernie Sanders people! Our system is corrupt, and we need take power for the people. Its foolish to not participate on the democratic process–its the only way out of this mess. Ignoring the system will only perpetuate the dangerous track we are on.
The internet is our last and only source of truth, of course they want to shut it down or moderate it. That is the only reason Bernie has been heard and even known. Did CNN ever show his rise of popularity? without it Americans would be in the dark and fed bullshit even more. You got this one last shot at straightening the mess out you’re in. I fear If you don’t get him, in next time you will be so demoralized and brainwashed nothing will ever change till USA becomes one big yard of beggars and criminals with a small group who dine in their walled off Garden of Babylon.
We need to COUP.
Y’know, it doesn’t matter who you put in there. Power corrupts. Even without shadow governments, the Illuminati, the Rothschilds, Templars, or whatever conspiracy theory you subscribe to, the fact is that if you put a human in that position, they’re going to do what is best for themselves and their peers. Period. Nobody else counts as real, so why worry about them?
The same force that makes you say that the next county’s football team sucks and their cheerleaders are skanks is the same force that makes lawmakers not care about the governed once they’ve been in Washington long enough to acclimate. The reason your team is your team is the reason that we can’t have good government. Because our minds are too small to encompass all of humankind and embrace and care about it the same way we do our friends, family, and neighbors. If someone has to suffer, its ok so long as it isn’t YOUR people.
The monkeysphere. Google it.
Ain’t shit we can do but marvel that the system even works at all.
Money is just a measurement of human labor and opportunity, after all. If ALL people got off their asses and went to work doing amazing things just for the sake of humanity, we wouldn’t need money at all.
But truth is, we’re just a bunch of selfish assholes. So we kinda deserve what we’re getting.