Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Isn’t Secret-Says US Official-But Access To Text Is Highly Restricted
Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal Isn’t Secret, Says US Official, But Access To Text Is Highly Restricted
The trade rules of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) between the U.S. and 11 Asian nations would cover nearly 40 percent of the world economy — but don’t ask what they are. Access to the text of the proposed deal is highly restricted. Nevertheless, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman defended the Obama administration Friday at the World Economic Forum from intensifying criticism of its refusal to release the full text of the proposed TPP. …
Yet the actual text of the agreement remains under lock and key. That represents a significant break from the Bush administration, which in 2001 published the text of a proposed multinational trade agreement with Latin American nations. …
Sen. Bernie Sander’s office confirmed to International Business Times that congressional lawmakers are permitted to view the text of the agreement only in the Trade Representative’s office, without their own staff members or experts present. They are not allowed to take copies of the agreement back to Capitol Hill for deeper, independent evaluation.
http://www.ibtimes.com/trans-pacific-partnership-deal-isnt-secret-says-us-official-access-text-highly-1793274
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.... extensions of monopoly powers in the form of intellectual property law and sovereign investor-state tribunals exempt from appeal which allow corporations to run roughshod over any pesky little governmental entity that has the audacity to attempt to fulfill constitutional duties to promote the general welfare, protect the environment, enact labor law, protect citizen safety, pass food labeling regulations, or anything else which corporations deem to negatively impact their inalienable profits.
When the founders wrote in Article 1, Section 8, "The Congress shall have Power To...promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries....", and in 1790 authorized patent protection for 14 years.
Krugman, a free trade advocate, hits the nail on the head when he observes that the TPP is NOT ABOUT TRADE but about enhancing "monopoly rents".
In the case of the TPP, the restriction of access serves to hide the nefarious provisions that proponents want to sneak through under the guise of a "trade agreement".
The non-transparency issues with the current generation of "trade agreements" becomes of increasing importance when the negotiations are primarily about non-trade economic policy changes conferring particular benefits to the corporate interests pushing the deal.
Certainly the military-industrial complex and other special interests are a problem as well when dealing with the issues you mentioned (nuclear war, climate change, etc), and solving the problem of conflicts between special interests & the public interest will not be easy.
Yet rarely have we had a situation in which policy that would be defeated if openly debated on the merits (massive copyright/patent extensions, sovereign "investor-state tribunals" overturning environmental, labor, safety laws) is being pushed under the guise of an executive trade negotiation, which Congress is expected to pass without input or amendment.
This breaks new ground, and is a threat to what's left of democratic governance.
running the show.
It's incredible people on DU literally want Hillary cause it's going to be more of this shit guaranteed.
the conservative Third Way fighting liberal Progressives in Democratic Party.
I say if the Third Way wins we rename the Democratic to something more appropriate like the Republican Party. 
-- Sir Edward Coke
