U.S. stops input from consumer, health, environmental and labor groups in Trans-Pacific trade talks!

[Better Believe It]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2012

U.S. Abandons Final Pretense of Transparency or Inclusion of Consumer, Health, Environmental, Labor Perspective in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Talks

WASHINGTON - April 10 - U.S. trade officials have quietly cut stakeholder presentations from the next set of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations, eliminating the last pretense that the process of the talks is transparent and inclusive and sending a message that only the views of the 600 official corporate trade advisors provided special access to the talks will be reflected in the final deal, Public Citizen said today. At previous TPP negotiating rounds, a day was set aside for civil society groups and others with concerns about the TPP to make presentations to negotiators.

“The message is clear: From now on, not only will the talks remain behind closed doors, but all pretense of consideration of consumer safety, health, environmental or labor concerns has been thrown out in favor of ensuring that the damning record of past U.S. trade pacts use of the same terms being pushed by the U.S. for TPP are not brought into the discussion,” said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch.

“The stakeholder presentations were the last vestige of transparency in these TPP talks,” Wallach said. “Many negotiators from other countries have told me that the stakeholder process was very valuable because it provided detailed information on the problems caused by past U.S. trade agreements (and on how they have actually worked) that was not generally available and certainly not being shared by U.S. negotiators, who generally have promoted positions promoted by industry interests.”

Indeed, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce recently noted on its website that it had “led the business community’s advocacy for U.S. negotiators to include strong disciplines in the TPP trade agreement on intellectual property and path-breaking new rules on regulatory coherence, due process in antitrust enforcement and state-owned enterprises. In these and other areas, U.S. negotiators have proposed negotiating text that hews close to the chamber’s recommendations.”

Public Citizen earlier this month joined with other public interest groups from the nine TPP countries to demand that the draft TPP text be released. Negotiating texts for past deals have been released, such as for the Free Trade Area of the Americas in 2001. Currently, more than 600 official corporate trade advisors have access – to which the press and public are denied. Indeed, TPP countries signed an agreement in 2010 to not release negotiating texts until four years after a deal is completed or negotiations abandoned.

To date, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk has refused to release any draft TPP text, despite repeated calls from civil society groups for more than a year. U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade, has led congressional efforts to make the process more transparent. Wyden told Oregon Live, “When international accords, like ACTA, are conceived and constructed under a cloak of secrecy, it is hard to argue that they represent the broad interests of the general public.”

“USTR’s response to the request by civil society groups and Sen. Wyden to see draft texts of a massive agreement that will rewrite wide swaths of U.S. non-trade law has been to slam the door shut, instead of opening up the process and making it more transparent,” said Wallach.

The fallout from the U.S. decision already has begun. In response, New Zealand civil society groups have called on their government to “pull the plug” and walk away from the TPP talks. The TPP negotiations cover issues ranging from banning Buy America policies, to curbing Internet freedom, to providing offshoring incentives and special rights for corporations to attack U.S. laws in foreign tribunals.

“You can only assume that the TPP would not survive the light of day, and that is why the U.S. public is being denied access to details and now civil society groups are being sidelined,” Wallach said. “The Obama administration declares itself the most transparent administration ever, and President Barack Obama campaigned on transparency in government. It’s time he put those words into action.” The next round of TPP talks will take place May 8-18 at the InterContinental Dallas hotel in Addison, Texas.
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Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts.

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/04/10-1

[xchrom]

1. Du rec.

[KG]

2. whew! I was worried this was gonna be an Obama bashing thread!

[ProSense]

3. Wow, I found

something good at the Public Citizen site.

STOCK Act signed into law today

By: Angela Bradbery

We just returned from the STOCK Act bill signing. The measure, which bans insider trading by members of Congress, has been pushed by Public Citizen since 2006. Craig Holman, our government affairs lobbyist, in particular has put a huge amount of time into lobbying for the bill. It was Holman who gave “60 Minutes” the idea to do a piece on congressional insider trading when they called him last fall in search of ideas. So kudos to Craig!

The bill isn’t as strong as we would like. For instance, it doesn’t prohibit insider trading by so-called “political intelligence operatives” who prowl the halls of Congress for information to use in stock trading to disclose their clients and activities. But it’s good. As Holman said today:

“This is a good bill — the most significant ethics achievement of the 112th Congress. But it could and should be stronger, and legislation is pending to strengthen it. Wall Street didn’t want this, and Congress passed it only because they were shamed into it. Still, it is a good step.”

The signing ceremony itself was really short. It was done in an auditorium that holds about 100 people. There were a dozen TV cameras. Those who had been invited to attend came early … and waited. And waited. We watched the stage being set up and the presidential seal being affixed to a small stand that was placed in front of a ludicrously small desk. As my colleague Rick Claypool noted, the president got the most uncomfortable and smallest chair in the room. Cards were placed around the desk to indicate where lawmakers and others should stand. Public Citizen’s President, Robert Weissman, was among those who gathered around the desk.

President Barack Obama strode in, flashed his smile, talked about how there shouldn’t be one set of rules for some and another set for another, then proceeded to the tiny desk to sign the bill. He used 10 pens to sign his name. Then it was over. He waved to the audience and said “Good job all of you!” Then he ambled offstage.

It was a gratifying moment for Holman, who, like so many here at Public Citizen, works incredibly hard but rarely gets a chance to bask in a victory. “It’s kind of cool,” he said with a grin.

http://www.citizenvox.org/2012/04/04/stock-act-craig-holman-congressional-insider-trading-obama/

In case you missed it: Good moves by the Obama administration
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002540300

[inna]

5. completely irrelevant to the topic

[inna]

4. It's a huge, huge, and way under-reported issue. Think NAFTA on steroids. nt