The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Death of Western Sovereignty - from TRUNEWS

(TRUNEWS) On February 4^th the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is set for formal signature in New Zealand.

The TPP is a global version of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which has been negotiated in secret for the last seven years and would place centralized regulation on 40 percent of the worlds economy.

NAFTA and GATT had a catastrophic effect on U.S. business competitiveness, and domestic export values, upon implementation in the 90’s, a trend the TPP is likely to follow.

The 12 participating nations, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam, concluded formal negotiations inside the U.S. On October 5^th 2015, much of which is still secret to the public.

The February 4^th formalization date was confirmed by Andres Rebolledo, Director General of Chile’s General International Economic Relations Bureau (DIRECON) during a January 5^th meeting with the countries National Human Rights Institute to discuss how the agreement will effect their organizations mission.

In a statement released by DIRECON after the meeting, Rebolledo said “we are the only country that has agreements with the 11 other countries in the TPP and we secured important advantages in different areas that will allow us to stimulate trade relations with all our partners. The most important thing is that we achieved an agreement that favors the country’s interests.”

A secondary confirmation of the date was provided to Bloomberg BNA by Peru’s Trade and Tourism Ministry (Mincetur), who confirmed that Deputy Trade Minister Edgar Vasquez, the country’s TPP negotiator, will be in New Zealand for the signing.

After the February 4^th finalization, treaty participants must return to their countries and at least 6 nations must ratify the TPP for it to take formal effect. These six countries however must represent a minimum of 85 percent of the gross domestic product of the 12 members, meaning Japan and the United States much be among them.

“The signing will be a celebration, but the critical work comes after with the ratification process in national parliaments,” Gary Hufbauer, of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told Bloomberg BNA.

Hufbauer also mentioned the disadvantageous nature of the TPP, for industrialized western nations such as the United States.

“The TPP is only good news for countries like Chile, Peru and Vietnam. It is a good legacy issue for a president,” said Hufbauer.

Because of this, Hufbauer said he expects the large economies in the TPP—Australia, Canada, Japan and Mexico—to pause action until its evident if President Barack Obama can fulfill his goal, of reaching ratification from the U.S. Congress by July.

The twelve Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Ministers hold a press conference to discuss progress in the negotiations in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii July 31, 2015. REUTERS/Marco Garcia

Dark Side of TPP

In opposition of the TPP, critics are worried that the unilateral global agreement may erode national sovereignty.

Robert Kennedy Jr., an environmental law attorney and activist, has pointed that corporate lawsuits against governments, like TransCanada’s legal action against the United States for its rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, will escalate to unprecedented levels if the TPP is approved.

The TPP extensively broadens trans-national entities rights, elevating them legally to the level of the domestic citizenry. This would allow companies that invest in foreign countries to claim the right to “fair” treatment, giving them the right to sue over canceled projects.

“Instead of the American public making the rules that govern our country, we have foreign companies that are now in control of some aspects of American sovereignty,” Kennedy said.

Protestors gather on the beach near the hotel where the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) meeting is being held in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii July 29, 2015. REUTERS/Marco Garcia

Globalization of GMO’s

Opposition to the TPP has also stemmed from a grass roots rejection of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO).

Anti-TPP protests on the agricultural objection were held this past weekend in various Latin American capitals, such as Buenos Aires, Lima, and Santiago. These protests centered around the new powers the TPP would grant GMO giants like Monsanto and Syngenta.

Under the known TPP provisions, companies like Monsanto, who produce GMO seeds and chemical herbicides, would yield the power to override a participating nations ban of their products.

On March 20^th 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced that glyphosate would be added to their list of agents that are “probably carcinogenic to humans. Glyphosate is one of  the main ingredients in Monsanto’s premier genetically engineered herbicide product, Roundup, and is also found in their ‘Roundup Ready crops’, GMO crops which have been specifically bioengineered to produce the toxin.

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