The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a proposed free trade agreement under secret negotiation between Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.
Branded as a “trade deal” by its corporate proponents, the TPP would actually establish new corporate rights to undermine environmental and health laws, offshore millions of American jobs, flood the US with untested food products, and extend the duration of medical patents. Its expansive non-trade provisions would impose constraints on government regulation of financial firms and food safety. As the Huffington Post’s Zach Carter reported, the TPP would even ban the widely popular “Buy America” procurement policy.
Taking place this week in Dallas, Texas, TPP negotiators are talking behind closed doors with hundreds of corporate “advisors” while the public and consumer advocates are locked out. (Despite tight security, protesters affiliated with Occupy Dallas succeeded in pranking the confab with a series of stunts including replacing hundreds of rolls of toilet paper throughout the conference venue with more informative versions.)
Our friends at the venerable advocacy group Public Citizen have been working overtime to expose the talks and educate the public on how the TPP will affect each of us. With apologies to the Jackson Five, this new music video makes clear why the stakes are so high and what we can do about it.
Watch and share the video, then sign Public Citizen’s petition imploring US Trade Rep Ron Kirk to stop the secrecy and publicly release all TPP proposals. Tell him it’s a simple request and that transparency matters.
