What's the SCARIEST Part of the TPP TRADE DEAL?

You decide:

OF COURSE THE ANSWER IS F. Corporate and government negotiators from the U.S. and 11 other countries are trying to put together a massive deal. We still don’t know much about the deal’s 29 sections, but what we do know is that TPP would be a disaster for U.S. workers, our jobs, and for our environment, consumer and food safety, our cities and more.

(1) Vietnam’s 2014 minimum wage averages just 56 cents an hour. Average wages aren’t much higher, about 75 cents an hour. Vietnam uses forced child labor in its garment industry and it is the second biggest exporter of garments to the U.S., just behind China. Vietnam violently suppresses workers’ and human rights.

(2) Malaysia uses forced labor to meet the demand of its electronics industry, where workers produce products for some of the world’s best known brands. A report by Verité, an organization that works for safe and legal workplaces around the globe, found that a third of migrant workers are trapped in this modern-day slavery and are subject to the illegal confiscation of their passports, debt bondage and sexual abuse. They’re also forced to work excessive overtime.

(3) Brunei has adopted cruel laws that are a violation of international human rights. When the final phase is implemented, people will be harshly treated for the “crimes” of adultery and same sex relationships. The new law “allows for cruel and inhuman punishments including stoning to death, whipping and amputation.”

In (4) Mexico, more than half the population lives below the poverty line, despite all the promises of the jobs and prosperity that NAFTA would create. Real wages in Mexico have fallen while the costs of basic consumer goods keep rising. Previous trade deals forced migrants to come to the U.S., as more than 1.1 million small farmers and 1.4 million others were driven out of work between 1993 and 2005.

(5) Australia provides a cautionary tale about the dangers of giving multinational corporations more power than nations. Philip Morris sued the government in its national courts over the country’s strict cigarette packaging requirements. When the tobacco giant lost in the Australian Supreme Court, it took its case to a private tribunal under a trade deal.

(6) Japan is taking a strong stand on agriculture and auto tariffs. Japan wants to shield its rice, wheat, dairy, sugar, beef, and pork products. Good for Japan.

(7) Singapore has a system of state-owned businesses that get special tax incentives and regulatory advantages. No free market here.

(8) New Zealand’s successful record of managing and maintaining prescription drug costs has come under fire by TPP negotiators. New Zealand also is being pressured to allow the extension of drug patents beyond 20 years. This is a plus for pharmaceutical companies but will increase the cost of prescriptions for ordinary families.

In (9) Canada, the vast majority of Canadian workers are covered by provincial standards but the U.S. and TPP negotiators want to make Canada’s weaker federal standard the governing labor law for workers. Many workers would lose many rights they now have.

(10) Peru sees big problems with the rising cost of prescription drugs that would result from tighter medical patents under TPP.

(11) Chile objects to giving corporations and investors broader power than governments. Good for them.

(12) In the U.S., Democratic members of Congress, and some Republicans with millions of union, community and environmental activists, are pushing back against a disastrous TPP.

NO FAST TRACK, NO SMART TRACK, NO TPP

When it comes to making sure that workers’ rights, environmental laws, consumer regulations and other public policy are followed, both fast track and smart track, from what we know now, are on the wrong track.

Nearly 600 organizations, including CWA, have written to Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, who is putting together the “trade promotion authority” bill that is the first step in the authorization of trade deals like TPP. Neither smart track nor fast track will give workers and communities the voice we deserve.

A majority of the Democratic Caucus is standing strong, saying “no fast track, no smart track and no TPP.” Under the flawed “fast track” approach, Congress couldn’t make any amendments to trade deals including TPP, but would only be able to vote yes or no on the entire package.

“By any name, the flawed ‘fast track’ approach still would enable negotiators to bypass Congress and put in place new and binding agreements that have real consequences for all of us. We need 21st- Century trade authority that allows Congress to do its job and represent the interests of U.S. workers, consumers and communities,” CWA President Larry Cohen said.

“A new model of trade authority is the only way to ensure that workers and communities have a voice in these trade decisions. We want to determine what kind of economy we have, not simply accept super-power status for multinational corporations and a snail’s pace for the enforcement issues raised by the rest of us,” he added.

The coalition has stressed that trade authority must include a Congressional role in selecting trade partners, a set of mandatory negotiating objectives, enhanced transparency, and Congressional certification that negotiating objectives have been met before trade negotiations can conclude, among other requirements.