President Obama and other heads of state are meeting in Asia this month in an attempt to advance the TPP negotiations. The public has been shut out of the TPP negotiating process, while hundreds of corporate lobbyists--representing companies such as Walmart, Cargill and Monsanto--have had access to the texts. This double standard has assured that the TPP has been written in corporations' interests, with little regard for farmers or working families.
The public deserves the right to know what is being proposed in our names for an international agreement that could set the rules in our country not only for tariffs--but also for food safety, "Buy Local" preferences, energy and environmental policy, financial regulations, Internet protocols, consumer labeling and more.
The big corporations know that if these trade agreements are subject to an open debate in Congress, they almost certainly can't pass. So they want Congress to give up its constitutional authority and basically hand President Obama (and whoever follows him) a blank check to make the agreements.
They are calling for "Fast Track" to be passed during the post-election "Lame Duck" session of Congress, when political accountability to constituents is often at its lowest. Fast Track is an extreme procedure that was used in the past to push through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and other devastating deals that could not pass under normal democratic procedures. We've seen the results, and they aren't pretty!
The vote on Fast Track authority for the TPP trade agreement could come at any time.
Please speak up now!
Tell your elected officials that you want them to vote NO on the Fast Track authority for trade agreements. Find out who to call and what to say in the Take Action sections below.
