By Sarah Rose (CLCV) & Art Pulaski (California Labor Federation)
They’re calling it “NAFTA on steroids.” The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would be the largest international trade deal in history – with major economic and environmental consequences here in California – but the details have been veiled in total secrecy.
Right now, the world’s wealthiest corporate interests are pressuring Congress for more power, less oversight, and their very own “Fast Track” for international business. But the legislation they’re pushing goes far beyond streamlining procedures – in fact, this Fast Track proposal would cut out the public entirely and allow a small group of worldwide powerbrokers to decide international trade agreements while operating in total secrecy.
Shockingly, this trade deal – which covers 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product – is being negotiated by former corporate lobbyists, with little to no information available to the public about the impact on jobs, the environment, and our economy.
Previous fast-tracked trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have cost California hundreds of thousands of good-paying, middle-class jobs and have led to an array of disastrous environmental outcomes ranging from a jump in greenhouse gas emissions to increased pesticide use to deforestation.
Right now, more than 600 corporate advisors are actively working to shape the TPP agreement while the public is being kept in the dark. Further, leaked texts and news reports show that the TPP would weaken our environmental standards and empower corporations to attack climate policies in secret trade tribunals. Using similar rules in other free trade agreements, corporations such as Exxon Mobil and Dow Chemical have launched nearly 600 cases against nearly 100 governments.
Based on available information, the TPP has the potential to undercut our middle class, pollute the environment, slow progress on climate change, and hinder innovation while giving even more power to global corporations.
Labor, environmentalists, community groups and open democracy advocates are together in our opposition to the Fast Track legislation for the TPP. But we need your help to stop it.
Thank you for taking action today, and thank you for all of your help in our ongoing fight for healthy environments and strong communities in California.
Sincerely,
Sarah Rose & Art Pulaski
Sarah Rose is the Chief Executive Office of the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV). Art Pulaski is the Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the California Labor Federation. CLCV and the California Labor Federation are partnering on this campaign for federal trade policies that protect the public interest, not corporate interests.
