"Who is writing the TPP?" by Elizabeth Warren & Rosa DeLauro (May 2015)

[think]

The article below was written last year but the point of who was involved in creating the TPP are still valid:

Who is writing the TPP?

By Elizabeth Warren and Rosa DeLauro MAY 11, 2015

CONGRESS IS in an intense debate over trade bills that will shape the course of the US economy for decades. Much of this debate has been characterized as a fight over whether international trade itself creates or destroys American jobs. There is, however, another major concern — that modern “trade” agreements are often less about trade and more about giant multinational corporations finding new ways to rig the economic system to benefit themselves. Hillary Clinton has said that the “United States should be advocating a level and fair playing field, not special favors” for big business, in our trade deals. We agree with this blunt assessment – and believe every member of Congress should consider this carefully before voting to help advance these agreements.

Advocates of the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive 12-country agreement, sell this proposal as a free trade deal — but the United States already has free trade agreements with half of the countries at the negotiating table, and only five of the treaty’s 29 draft chapters reportedly deal with traditional trade issues. While reducing traditional barriers to trade with countries like Japan will facilitate some international commerce, the TPP is about more than reducing tariffs.

The president argues that the TPP is about who will “write the rules” for 40 percent of the world’s economy — the United States or China. But who is writing the TPP? The text has been classified and the public isn’t permitted to see it, but 28 trade advisory committees have been intimately involved in the negotiations. Of the 566 committee members, 480, or 85 percent, are senior corporate executives or representatives from industry lobbying groups. Many of the advisory committees are made up entirely of industry representatives.

A rigged process leads to a rigged outcome. For evidence of that tilt, look at a key TPP provision: Investor-State Dispute Settlement where big companies get the right to challenge laws they don’t like in front of industry-friendly arbitration panels that sit outside of any court system. Those panels can force taxpayers to write huge checks to big corporations — with no appeals. Workers, environmentalists, and human rights advocates don’t get that special right....

Read more:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/05/11/elizabeth-warren-and-rosa-delauro-who-writing-tpp/2FQZAV6uz9GGQI6pe3cd0K/story.html

[yourpaljoey]

1. Well, that was then and this is now

[think]

3. What changed in who was involved in writing the TPP since then?

[yourpaljoey]

5. Well, the answer to that is... firstly... hmmm... I got nothin.'

(Did you think I had a legitimate reply?

[Mika]

2. Maybe with Warren on-board, she'll tell them to cut it out? eom

[yallerdawg]

4. We can read it now - we can find all "the horrors" - or not if it's a good deal!.

Question

“Was TPP negotiated in secrecy?”

Answer

This Administration has taken unprecedented steps to increase transparency during our trade negotiations. And every word of the TPP agreement is online here on Medium for you to read right now. The text will be public for months before the President signs it and longer still before Congress considers it.

The steps this Administration has taken to increase transparency have resulted in more public dialogue and outreach around TPP than any other free trade agreement in history. We published detailed summaries of U.S. negotiating objectives and issue-specific updates, solicited public comments on negotiating objectives, held public hearings, briefed Congress extensively on TPP and our overall trade agenda, and provided access to review text to Members of Congress and cleared staff, and provided access to review text to our entire Congressionally-mandated trade advisory committee system, including representatives from industry, labor unions, NGOs, and environmental groups.

The bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill that passed in June 2015 put in place additional requirements to ensure that Congress and the public play a meaningful role in our trade negotiations and hold this Administration — and future Administrations — accountable for ensuring that trade policy reflects the best interests of the American people.

Under TPA, TPP must be public for at least 60 days before the president signs it and sends it to Congress. TPA also specifies that after those two months, when implementing legislation is introduced, Congress will take up to 90 legislative days (typically several months) to hold hearings, convene sessions for drafting implementing legislation, and ultimately vote on agreements.

Before implementing legislation heads to the floor, Congressional Committees issue detailed reports, including on whether negotiating objectives have been met.

https://medium.com/the-trans-pacific-partnership/frequently-asked-questions-on-the-trans-pacific-partnership-eddc8d87ac73#.tzbv4equ8

[Gabi Hayes]

6. so....how does the link above resolve what's been said about ISDS arbitration?

what has changed since this:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=members+of+congress+not+allowed+to+take+notes+when+reading+tpp

lots of links at this page, including

Extreme secrecy eroding support for Obama's trade pact
Classified briefings and bill-readings in basement rooms are making members queasy.

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/secrecy-eroding-support-for-trade-pact-critics-say-117581#ixzz4DTYI114W

[yallerdawg]

7. The link above takes you to the finalized text of TPP.

No secrecy. Read it. Read the summary and verify accuracy.

No more speculation and innuendo.

Of course, if your mind is made up - no argument or fact will change that. You'll simply remain wrong.

[bemildred]

8. Most of our Congress would not know how to draft a law if the opportunity ever came up.

Mostly what they do is raise money.