People Are Stopping The TPP; Time To Finish Off Corporate Trade

With the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its European equivalent, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, both moving in a downward spiral, the time is right for those against these corporate-rigged trade deals to stop them completely.

by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers | Popular Resistance

WASHINGTON — (Opinion) There has been a remarkable turn of events recently when it comes to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and its European equivalent, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. They are faltering and moving in a downward spiral, if the movement keeps doing its job this will continue for the duration of the Obama presidency.

The people-powered movement against trade, the largest anti-corporate trade movement in history, has built its power over the last five years. The movement grew tremendously and flexed its muscles over the last year of the campaign trying to stop “fast-track” trade authority, which barely squeaked through Congress last spring. In this election year, politicians recognize TPP stands for “Toxic Political Poison” and fear voting on it in 2016.

It is time for us to recognize the power the people have built and use it to not only finish off the TPP and TTIP, but to also set a new direction in trade policy. Trade needs to serve people and the planet, not just corporate profits. Trade needs to shrink the power of transnational corporations and oligarchs, build democracy and transparency, and shrink the wealth divide. Trade has to ameliorate the crises of climate injustice, economic injustice and weakened democracy, not make them worse.

Obama’s faltering trade agenda

Trade has been President Barack Obama’s top economic agenda item ever since he was given fast-track trade authority by Congress. But that was a very costly victory for him and former Speaker of the House John Boehner.

First, in order to eke out a legislative victory, Obama and his shrinking number of allies in Congress had to compromise and make the TPP public for 90 days before it was signed. Originally, the trade negotiators planned to keep the TPP secret for four years after it was signed. This has been a costly compromise, as people now know what is in the agreement and the U.S. trade representative and the president can no longer deny it.

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