We'll regret TPP!

We know how bad NAFTA was.

Let's not make a bigger mistake and allow Big Corporations to destroy our economy, our laws and our standard of living.

Please speak up now!

When I worked in the Clinton White House, President Clinton was determined to push through the NAFTA trade deal with Mexico and Canada, and he was successful in doing so. It was one of the worst mistakes my old boss made- very few of the good things Clinton promised came to pass, while most of the bad things opponents predicted (loss of manufacturing jobs, lower wages in key sectors, food safety problems) did. Now a huge new trade deal is being negotiated, and it looks like NAFTA on steroids in terms of the harm it could cause.

Since 2010, the United States Trade Representative has been negotiating the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) mostly in secret – a law that would govern more than 40% of all of the United States’ imports and exports. While the trade rep has been consulting a great deal with big business over the provisions of the treaty, there has been very little transparency to the general public or even members of Congress over what is being negotiated. Now, supporters of the TPP want to “fast track” the treaty, meaning Congress would have no power to amend any provisions.

The problem is, the TPP has a lot of problems that haven’t been resolved. While we don’t know a lot of the details because of the secrecy involved, leaks from the negotiations make it clear that the TPP does not protect American jobs from being shipped overseas, and it benefits corporations and the rich. According to Public Citizen, “The TPP would mean wage losses for all but the richest 10% of U.S. workers.”

We can’t let the TPP pass as currently written, and our best hope is convincing Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to speak out publicly against the Baucus-Camp fast-track bill. Click here to call Minority Leader Pelosi and ask her to publicly oppose the bill, and use her leadership position to help stop it.

The TPP has numerous other problems as well. The TPP excludes China from the negotiations, which would increase the US/China trade imbalance. The bill would give stronger privileges to pharmaceutical companies, allowing them to “ever-green” drugs and hold monopolies on drugs. In addition, the TPP includes similar language to the failed Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), in order to get around Congress’s oversight.

There are too many massive problems with the TPP for it to pass. Please call Minority Leader Pelosi and ask her to publicly oppose fast tracking the TPP.

Mike Lux
American Family Voices

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