"We stand to gain financially from #TPP but we oppose nonetheless."
Link for this editorial posted today on Twitter by Patagonia.
TPP? One global business says, “No thanks.”
By Rose Marcario, Patagonia CEO
Patagonia opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement and Fast Track approval.
We stand to gain financially from TPP and the potential duty relief on products made within the region, but the minor potential gains are not worth the social and environmental costs.
We have listened closely to the Administration’s assurances that TPP affords unprecedented environmental and labor protections in a trade agreement. We are not persuaded, for several reasons.
The biggest problem is the secrecy attendant to the negotiation of the TPP, which has enabled the pact to be negotiated privately, without public comment, until voted by Congress, up or down without amendments, and signed into law. This is the opposite of transparency—and it is weak democracy.
Although we understand the need for some confidentiality around multi-round trade agreements, it’s absurd for the Administration to seek endorsement from business leaders for a pact we and interested NGOs or ordinary citizens are not allowed to read. We still don’t have a clear view to labor provisions, environmental protections or agricultural impacts contained in TPP—and neither do American citizens.
Full editorial:
http://www.thecleanestline.com/2015/06/tpp-one-global-business-says-no-thanks.html