TPP threatens American freedoms

To the Editor;

Many people feel the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was bad for the U.S. It cost us at least 845,000 jobs as of 2014, according to the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program. TAA covers only a subset of jobs lost at manufacturing facilities though, and is difficult to qualify for, so using the number 845,000 significantly undercounts NAFTA job losses.

Most people losing manufacturing jobs have experienced wage reductions as they joined the oversupply of workers competing for low-skill jobs like hospitality and food service. Farmers promised increased export opportunities under NAFTA instead found beef imports from Canada and Mexico increased by 130 percent and overall food imports by 188 percent from these two countries. US food prices nevertheless increased by 65 percent during this time. All of which demonstrates that someone is making money off of NAFTA, but it isn’t American farmers, consumers, or workers.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a NAFTA-like pact with 11 Pacific countries, is the latest edition of NAFTA-like trade deals. It has been negotiated in secret over the past few years, not by our government but by corporations. It will allow corporations to outsource more jobs overseas, raise prescription drug prices by extending drug patents, and threaten food safety standards and “buy-American” laws.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established the same time as NAFTA in 1994. Under its rules, countries and businesses can sue governments for laws that restrict or harm their ability to trade. The TPP has similar rules. It would undermine U.S. and state sovereignty by giving corporations the right to challenge our laws before international tribunals whose decisions would over-rule U.S. courts of law.

Here is a recent example of how agreements like the TPP are used to force us to change our laws. In 2008, the U.S. enacted mandatory “country of origin” labeling” (COOL) for meat. Canada and Mexico claimed that this law violated WTO rules and sued the U.S. government. Last month they won a $1 billion judgement against the US. In order to avoid having to pay this fine, on Dec. 18, 2015, Congress repealed COOL for pork and beef.

Mexico has significantly lower standards than the U.S. for meat production, so many Americans would rather buy meat raised in the U.S., if given the choice. Yet, as of last month, you will no longer be able to tell what country produced the meat you are looking at in the grocery store. We have lost the option to buy only American meat (if that is what we want to do).

If the TPP is passed by Congress, there will be 11 more countries whose corporations and governments can sue the U.S. for any U.S. or state law that they feel harms their industries (no matter how corrupt or polluting or dangerous these industries are). If they win in the tribunal, the U.S. will be assessed a fine, the same as we were in COOL, and our Congress will be pressured into changing US law in response, just as they did in COOL. If it is a state law, Congress will pressure the state to change its law.

The TPP is likely to be voted upon by Congress this year, possibly in the next few months. Despite NAFTA’s failures, the Obama administration has made passage of the TPP one of its highest priorities. Sens. Collins and King and Rep. Poliquin all say they have not yet decided on how they will vote. We know they are hearing a lot from the corporate side. Now is the time to let them know what you think about the TPP.

Bob Lodato
Charleston