TPP is a big, bad deal for workers

Rep. Marcy Kaptur called out TPP as bad for workers this morning.

Several House members gathered on Capitol Hill this morning to let the public know seeing isn't believing when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Lawmakers rolled out a copy for the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal on a dolly -- all 5,600 pages of it -- and said it will take more than 90 days for lawmakers to fully dissect and digest the agreement. But they added what they've read thus far is worse than they imagined.

When it comes to American jobs, trade deficits, expanded rights for foreign investors and food safety, the TPP is a loser for everyday Americans, elected officials stated. It's time for the U.S. to learn from past history on trade deals, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said:

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is more of the great sucking sound of jobs out of this country. Not a single one has resulted in a trade balance...We are going to lose even more jobs. TPP is just more of the same.

House members said bipartisan opposition to the deal is growing on Capitol Hill. Now that the document is public, lawmakers can delve into it to get the details of the pact. And many are not liking what they read.

The TPP document in all its largeness.

For example, the agreement will allow members to challenge food safety checks made when goods are imported into the U.S. Given the concerns many have raised about seafood brought in from Vietnam and Malaysia, for example, that is not good news for consumers.

TPP also does nothing to curtail currency manipulation, which would lead to even larger U.S. trade deficits with member countries. And investor-state dispute resolution language actually gives investors a great ability to sue these Pacific Rim countries to have their laws overturned.

As Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said, TPP is "too big to pass," given that only five chapters of the agreement even deal with trade. It's just another attempted corporate takeover sanctioned by member governments.

That's why Congress needs to say no to the TPP.

The war against bad trade deals continues

The Teamsters joined fair trade advocates earlier this month in protesting TPP.

The Senate is on the verge of giving final approval later today to fast track legislation that will allow lousy trade deals like the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to speed through Congress with little debate and no chance to amend them. Sadly, a majority of lawmakers will choose to side with the powerful over the people.

It is discouraging to lose this battle. More than 57,000 contacts with lawmakers were made through the Teamsters' phone and e-mail tools in recent weeks to tell them to stick up for American workers. But it wasn't enough. As Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said:

History shows it makes no sense to give a quick up-or-down vote to bad trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership that will only ship jobs overseas and lower wages in the U.S. Yet again, workers have been tossed aside by some lawmakers who are more interested in pleasing their corporate cronies than doing what’s best for their constituents.

But the trade war isn't over. Not by a long shot. The fast track fight has been a galvanizing battle in the effort to build a fair trade movement for the 21st century that protects American jobs and the environment. The momentum is on the side of the hundreds of thousands of people who are now engaged in this effort, organized in the states and intent to fight for their rights.

The battle now turns to the TPP. Americans have not yet seen the text of this lengthy and complex agreement and even elected officials have limited access to the document. How can Congress approve such a trade deal when it doesn’t know everything that is in it?

What the public does know, however, isn’t good. Several TPP chapters have been unveiled by WikiLeaks, and they show the 12-nation Pacific Rim trade deal would result in lost American jobs, bigger U.S. trade deficits due to the currency manipulation practices of other countries and even the possibility that this country’s laws could be challenged by foreign corporations and overturned by an international tribunal.

That’s why the Teamsters and other advocates plan on keeping up the pressure to build real and enforceable labor and environmental standards. A process also needs to be established that includes and informs the public, rather than keeping people on the outside of the negotiating process.

TPP backers have made big promises about how the trade deal will change the lives of Americans for the better, even though The Washington Post found it won’t create any new U.S. jobs. Now they have to make good on those promises. American workers need to get something from these agreements. The corporate class insists they will. The Teamsters and those standing up for workers will hold them accountable for their promises.

House, Senate panels side with corporate cronies on fast track

The House Ways and Means Committee last night misguidingly followed the lead of its Senate counterparts by approving a fast track trade promotion authority (TPA) bill that will allow secret trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to be rammed through Congress.

Demonstrators protest fast track on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Despite the objections raised by Rep.Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and others on the panel who noted the legislation is a continuation of bad U.S. trade policy over the past two decades, a majority decided to side with big business interests by rejecting amendments by Levin and others that would have beefed up worker protections in fast track.

Levin, the panel's top Democrat, told his fellow committee members:

The TPP negotiators today are not on the right track. In some vital areas, we don't know where the USTR is heading. In other areas, we don't like where they are going. It is simply incorrect to say this TPA puts Congress in the driver's seat. Instead, it puts us in the back seat.

Meanwhile, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) said it seemed fast track supporters were speeding forward with little concern about the possible consequences of the legislation. He said there is a real need for trade to benefit all Americans:

The question is not whether we should have more trade, but what the nature of that trade should be.

The House committee, like the Senate Finance Committee Wednesday night, rejected efforts that would have bolstered currency manipulation provisions so other countries can't rise up the costs of U.S. imports while lowering their export prices to Americans. They also pushed aside concerns about language that would allow foreign corporations to sue the U.S. government over laws on the books that they think hurt their company's business.

Both the House and Senate are expected to bring the fast track bill to the floor next month. It's now even more critical that Teamsters and other fair trade advocates let their lawmakers know that fast track is the wrong track for America.