WikiLeaks Says Secretive Trade Agreement Paves Way to 'Corporatization of Public Services'

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/318-66/37131-wikileaks-says-secretive-trade-agreement-paves-way-to-corporatization-of-public-services

The most surprising revelations in the WikiLeaks documents released this week involve state-owned enterprises, or SOEs — government-owned corporations that often operate like private businesses but pursue public goals, experts said.

The United States Postal Service might be considered a SOE. The service has a monopoly on snail mail. But it also competes against private companies by selling money orders, retail merchandise and express deliveries. When the postal service needs more money, it raises the price of stamps and other products or, when times are desperate, goes hat in hand to Congress.

WikiLeaks and others claim that negotiators from the United States and 22 other countries want to erode SOEs to clear the way for multinational corporations to take over their functions. TiSA would seek to lower trade barriers for finance, telecommunications and other service industries. It would cover around 75 percent of the world's $44 trillion services market, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative.

"This corporatization of public services — to nearly the same extent as demanded by the recently signed TPP — is a next step to privatization of SOEs on the neoliberal agenda behind the 'Big Three,'" said a WikiLeaks statement.

The "Big Three" referred to TiSA, the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, a deal that the US and 11 other governments have finished negotiating but not yet ratified, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. American and European diplomats are now negotiating the TTIP. European trade officials have said they would like to conclude TiSA talks by the end of the year.

[bjo59]

1. This is extremely serious and not enough Americans have woken up to this fact.

The corporatists in both the Republican and Democratic parties rely heavily on the infamous ignorance that characterizes our society. Once the big three pass, they won't have to rely on that any longer. Won't matter how much one understands, it will be too late to do anything about it.

[90-percent]

2. not only ignorance

but sinister agenda driven corporate propaganda. To be an informed citizen contributing to our Democracy you have to do ten hours of critical review of media to come up with one hour of bona fide valid sound correct unslanted information.

-90% Jimmy

[bjo59]

27. To have enough informed citizens to make any difference you have to have a "fourth estate" that

is not owned by the very entities who profit off the ignorance - true.

[cali]

4. These trade deals carve up new expanses to increase profits

for certain industries.

[Hortensis]

11. Conservatives know all about the attempts to

privatize our wonderful USPS, and every one I've tried to appeal to to save it has insisted no problem with destroying an American institution that has served us so well since Ben Franklin established it, no problem explaining to small children why why the kids in the book are talking to a strange man walking up the sidewalk, no problem trading to-the-door delivery for a parking lot filled with kiosks, no problem paying $5 to deliver a card to Great-aunt Deborah, etc.

These days most conservatives will support literally anything if they think it opposes the Democrats, and oppose almost anything for the same reason.

Look at Trump.

Btw, "neoliberals" are conservatives.

[cali]

14. The TPP is President Obama's baby.

[jwirr]

18. Too late to do anything about it. That is what I fear. The new

Obama legacy will be that slavery to the organizations is once again legal. I do not see why he does not see that.

[emsimon33]

3. When you hear the media saying what a great president Obama is...

remember these "trade" agreements that he is pushing.

[Skittles]

5. isn't that where it is all headed?

[Scientific]

6. K & R

[moondust]

7. Corporations

are not moral entities. Unelected, self-serving, amoral entities whose decisions are guided by their bottom line have no business "governing" the commons.

[pampango]

8. "Those rules would especially impact China, where the state controls much of the economy via

state-owned businesses. Echoing arguments in favor of the TPP — which does not include China — Barfield said nailing down TiSA now would help set ground rules for when China also joined the accord. "When you are talking about SOEs, China is the big elephant in the room," he said.

Celeste Drake, a trade and globalization policy specialist at the AFL-CIO, agreed. She was skeptical of the deal but saw merits in the TiSA's proposals.

"We want trading rules that set up a level playing field," Drake said, adding that the AFL-CIO hadn't yet taken an official position on the deal. "It's not level if one country is providing subsidies to allegedly 'private enterprises' that other countries are not providing because it is against the rules. That's one of the threats from China: that it is using public monies to subsidize state-controlled businesses so they can behave in a predatory manner and destroy US jobs."

Limiting China's ability to subsidize state-owned manufacturing and other enterprises is a good goal. Government subsidies give them a competitive advantage over manufacturing in other countries. But how do you do that without damaging the viability of legitimate state-owned enterprises like the Post Office here or the National Health Service in the UK?

[Teamster Jeff]

13. It still remains a race to the bottom. Where corporate profits are the main goal.

Privatizing our government services so we can exist with China is the best way forward? Driving down wages and forcing austerity on the people of this country is the only option?

No, it's the best option only when corporate profits are the one and only goal.

[pampango]

15. China (or India or Vietnam) subsidizing its manufacturing is part of a 'race to the bottom' also.

As the AFL-CIO rep said, "one of the threats from China: that it is using public monies to subsidize state-controlled businesses so they can behave in a predatory manner and destroy US jobs."

There needs to be a way to "do that without damaging the viability of legitimate state-owned enterprises like the Post Office here or the National Health Service in the UK?" International negotiations seems to be the best way to achieve that though it remains to be seen if this agreement does that or not - which is probably why "the AFL-CIO hadn't yet taken an official position on the deal".

[Teamster Jeff]

16. No doubt. China dumping cheap Steel is one of the most damaging to good Union US jobs

The Dept. of Commerce just slapped a new 266% tariff on cold rolled steel. Considered a band aid on the problem but its something.

The people negotiating these trade deal don't care where steel is made and they certainly don't give a shit what the AFL CIO thinks about anything.

[pampango]

17. I think Obama cares or he would not have slapped that 200% tariff on Chinese steel as well as

numerous other actions he has taken to deal with dumping from China and elsewhere. That has been part of his China strategy since he came into office.

[Teamster Jeff]

20. Trump promises high tariffs. 45% on all Chinese imports. 35% Mexico

Does Trump care about US workers? I think not.

If Obama really wanted to help US workers he wouldn't be pushing bogus "free" trade agreements.

[pampango]

22. Trump cares little for international law. His tariffs are unilateral outside of any international

rules. Obama works within the structure of international law.

I think Obama views the best way to solve international problems is international negotiations. FDR came up with his ITO with its rules on labor rights and business regulation. Obama has his TPP with, what he seems to think, are its labor rights and environmental standards. None were or are perfect.

[Teamster Jeff]

23. We need a better negotiator then.

Because these deals are nothing but multi national corporate wish lists put on paper and signed

[pampango]

24. "We Don't Have Our Best And Brightest Negotiating For Us... We're Getting Ripped Off Big League"

Trump On Trade: "We Don't Have Our Best And Brightest Negotiating For Us... We're Getting Ripped Off Big League"

"China is killing us, Mexico is killing us, Japan is killing us. Everybody is beating us. We have incompetent people negotiating trade. We are losing money at every single step. We don't make good deals anymore...

We don't have our best and our brightest negotiating for us. We have a bunch of losers, we have a bunch of political hacks. We have diplomats...

I know the smartest guys on Wall Street. I know our best negotiators. I know the overrated guys, the underrated guys, the guys that nobody ever heard of that are killers, that are great. We gotta use those people...

I'm telling you, we're in trouble. We have a president who is incompetent, doesn't know what he's doing. And this country is going to go down. We have got a lot of problems in this country...

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2015/06/18/trump_on_trade_we_dont_have_our_best_and_brightest_negotiating_for_us_were_getting_ripped_off_major_league.html

[Teamster Jeff]

30. It's more whose interests Obama's team is negotiating for. I can tell it's not mine

Don't think Trump's trade spiel won't attract voters because it will. Especially as Obama is pushing one more job killing trade bill

[pampango]

31. Of course "Trump's trade spiel" will attract voters. It has attracted millions of repubicans and

will do that, to a lesser extent, with independents and liberals.

The republican base has been anti-trade (and all other international) agreements for a long time. Trump knew it and used that knowledge more effectively than his opponents. That base embraces fear and hate of foreigners (a convenient scapegoat) despite the fact that we trade less than any other country.

Our problems are caused by or regressive laws on taxes, the safety net, regulation and union support. Trump will not deal with those but will attempt to push his 'populist' opposition to trade, climate, nuclear and other international negotiations (the foreign 'boogeyman'). We can 'triangulate' and adopt some of Trump's fear and hate rhetoric in order to win elections or we can do what FDR did and negotiate with the rest of the world.

[jwirr]

19. The trade deals remove sovereignty of nations and ends our

right to say to China no more iron imports. The field may be leveled but only as much as the international courts allow. We could fight back against China if we had not agreed in some trade bill that corporate profits are the bottom line.

Fair trade would make national health as important as corporate health. For profit trade bills are not about trade.

[Teamster Jeff]

21. .

[pampango]

25. China is not a part of the trade deals.

... ends our right to say to China no more iron imports.

The field may be leveled but only as much as the international courts allow.

International law can be tough. The field may be level but the US does not get special rules.

We could fight back against China if we had not agreed in some trade bill that corporate profits are the bottom line.

Again China is not part of TiSA or TPP. In fact, both are designed to reduce the competitive advantage that China has in terms of government subsidizing of its manufacturing industries and its weak labor and environmental standards.

China opposes both TiSA and TPP precisely for these reasons. The Chinese government likes the status quo just fine.

[jwirr]

26. they will be once we have isolated them.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

34. This is an extremely important comment

[Scuba]

9. Obama's ultimate betrayal.

[moondust]

10. Maybe another LBJ.

Did some good things but they were overshadowed by the tragedy of Vietnam.

[malaise]

12. Privatization of public services is the lynchpin of

neo-liberalism. This despite all the evidence that it does not work and costs way more as men want profits for basic human services.

[hollysmom]

28. but it rewards your donors very well.

edited to add a missing r

[malaise]

29. Of course

but often it's politicians who are the beneficiaries since they and their relatives set up companies or loot the assets of governments - local, state or federal - across the globe.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

32. K&R for visibility

[lmbradford]

33. Oh shit!!

What next? Pay to wipe our butts?