TRADE TREATIES NEED OPEN DEBATE, NOT FAST TRACK

ABSTRACT: Action in Congress on requiring Fast Track consideration of trade treaties is likely to happen soon. Two broad “trade” agreements are scheduled for Congressional action this year: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with a dozen Pacific Rim countries and the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) with the European Union (EU). Fast Track authority requires that Congress consider and act on a treaty in a short timeframe with no amendments or changes allowed and with no filibustering.

I urge you to email, call, write, and, if you can, meet with your member of Congress and your Senators and tell them you do not want them to approve Fast Track authority. These “trade” agreements are too important and too far reaching to be approved quickly and quietly.

Business groups are pushing hard for Fast Track consideration in Congress. They are supporters of the treaties, which are widely viewed as very favorable to corporate interests. The growing resistance to Fast Track authority is fueled in large part by:

• Secrecy on the negotiations and agreement provisions, which breeds suspicion;
• Concern that they benefit multi-national corporations at the expense of others; and
• Growing data on the damaging impacts of 20 years with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), on which these treaties are modeled.

The indirect effects of the past and these possible new “trade” agreements on the balance of power in employer-employee relations and in our political system, as well as on economic inequality, may be more significant than the direct effects, such as job losses. The TPP and the TAFTA, based on what is known about them, will likely benefit corporations and investors, while hurting US workers and citizens. Moreover, if approved, these treaties will be very difficult to change, as the consent of all the parties is required. At the least, a full discussion of their provisions, based on full disclosure, is warranted.

FULL POST: Action in Congress on requiring Fast Track consideration of trade treaties is likely to happen soon. President Obama would like to have Fast Track authority, formally known as Trade Promotion Authority, for two broad “trade” agreements that are scheduled for Congressional action this year: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with a dozen Pacific Rim countries and the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) [1] with the European Union (EU). (I put trade in quotes because these “trade” agreements, like NAFTA, go well beyond trade issues and cover a broad range of legal and regulatory issues. The provisions for reducing trade barriers and increasing trade are only a small part of the agreements.)

Fast Track authority requires that Congress consider and act on a treaty in a short timeframe with no amendments or changes allowed and with no filibustering. Fast Track authority was first used in 1974 and has been used on a number of occasions since then.

I urge you to email, call, write, and, if you can, meet with your member of Congress and your Senators and tell them you do not want them to approve Fast Track authority. [2] These “trade” agreements are too important and too far reaching to be approved quickly and quietly. Full disclosure and debate of the provisions of “trade” agreements is what democracy requires.

The Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate Finance Committee, along with the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, have reportedly reached an agreement on a Fast Track authority bill, although they have not yet released its details. The argument for Fast Track consideration of trade treaties is that it means other countries will be more likely to make concessions and reach agreement on the treaty if they are confident that the US Congress can’t change it.

Business groups, including the US Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, are pushing hard for Fast Track consideration in Congress. They are supporters of the treaties, which are widely viewed as very favorable to corporate interests, [3] and are presumably worried that debate in Congress and the public on the treaties would reduce their chances for approval.

There is significant opposition to granting Fast Track authority in Congress and outside of it. Nearly 200 members of the US House, mostly Democrats but some Republicans, have signed letters strongly questioning the granting of Fast Track authority for these treaties. [4]

The growing resistance to Fast Track authority for these new “trade” agreements in Congress and the public is fueled in large part by:

• Secrecy on the negotiations and agreement provisions, which breeds suspicion;
• Concern that they benefit multi-national corporations at the expense of local businesses, workers and citizens, and national sovereignty; and
• Growing data on the damaging impacts of 20 years with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), on which these treaties are modeled.

Both treaties are being negotiated in great secrecy. For the TPP, the Obama administration has deemed the negotiations classified information, restricting Congressional access to documents and banning discussion of the negotiations and treaty provisions with the press or the public. [5] In 2013, Senator Elizabeth Warren opposed the confirmation of the US Trade Representative because he refused to share any of TPP’s provisions. She noted the important need for transparency and public debate on the treaty. [6]

These treaties are seen by many advocates for health, labor, safety, environmental, and financial industry standards and regulations as a masquerade for a corporate power grab, designed to weaken regulation and run roughshod over workers’ and citizens’ interests. [7] These “trade” agreements would enable multi-national corporations to operate with weakened oversight by national governments, free of nations’ court systems, and with reduced consumer and citizen protections. Corporations would become supra-national entities and would answer only to a separate system of rules and courts, administered by new international tribunals. In essence, an international system, parallel to the United Nations system of international governance for nations, would be created for international governance of corporations – a United Multi-national Corporations system, if you will. (More on this in a subsequent post.)

The same claims are being made for these two trade treaties that were made for NAFTA: they will promote economic growth, reduce trade deficits or increase trade surpluses, and increase jobs. The actual experience with NAFTA is that it has done none of these things, which is probably the best indicator of the likely effects of these new trade treaties. And the TPP has specifically been described as NAFTA on steroids. (More on this in a subsequent post.)

The indirect effects of the past and these possible new “trade” agreements on the balance of power in employer-employee relations and in our political system, as well as on economic inequality, may be more significant than the direct effects, such as job losses. The corporations and investors who have been the winners in this globalization of trade and commerce can invest their winnings (i.e., profits) in campaign contributions, lobbying, and political strategies that ensure they are the victors in next round of “trade” agreements. [8]

Although President Obama recently described growing economic inequality in the US as a major issue, NAFTA has increased inequality and the new trade treaties are likely to as well. NAFTA and other recent “trade” agreements have provided benefits to corporations and investors globally, while hurting workers and the middle class in the US, and sometimes hurting workers in other countries. The TPP and the TAFTA, based on what is known about them, will similarly benefit corporations and investors, while hurting US workers and citizens. Moreover, if approved, these treaties will be very difficult to change, as the consent of all the parties is required. At the least, a full discussion of their provisions, based on full disclosure, is warranted.