[Ngo-sanrm] NAFTA on Steroids: The TransPacific Partnership and Global Neoliberalism

Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Resources Management Working Group ngo-sanrm at ngocentre.org.vn
Wed Aug 21 02:02:47 BST 2013



http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18221-contradictions-of-global-neoliberalism

Some sections have been leaked. And what they reveal is "an agreement that actually formalizes the priority of corporate power over 
government," according to Lori Wallach of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. Only 5 of the 29 chapters have to do with trade. Wallach says the rest of the draft:
"include[s] new rights for the big pharmaceutical companies to 
expand, to raise medical prices, expand monopoly patents; [there are] 
limits on Internet freedom, penalties for inadvertent noncommercial 
copying, [like] sending something to a friend. There are the same rules 
that promote off-shoring of jobs that were in NAFTA that are more robust [and] that literally give privileges and protections if you leave. 
There is a ban on "buy American" and "buy local" or "green" or 
sweat-free procurement. There are limits on domestic financial stability regulations. There are limits on imported food safety standards and 
product standards. There are limits on how we can regulate energy 
towards a more green future - all of these things are what they call 
"Behind the Borders" agenda. And the operating clause of TPP is: "Each country shall ensure the conformity of its domestic laws, regulations and administrative procedures with these agreements." That's to say, that we're told to conform all of our domestics laws - 
including all the important public interest laws fought for so hard by 
people around the country - for these corporate dictates, and it's 
strongly enforceable. If we do not conform our laws, another country can challenge us and impose trade sanctions until we do, but this one is 
even privately enforceable by the corporations themselves.
What is being constructed secretly, bit by bit, is a global 
governance structure in which corporations are the citizens and 
globalized states are the local administrative structures that enforce 
corporate dictates and maintain order. This is a world without popular 
sovereignty and without democracy. It is a world ruled by an insulated 
technocratic elite serving the interests of global capital.
 
===============================
Chuck Palazzo
Agent Orange Action Group
http://aoag.org/
Chapter 160, Hoa Binh, Veterans For Peace
http://vfp-vn.ning.com/

chuck_pal at yahoo.com
================================
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ngocentre.org.vn/pipermail/ngo-sanrm/attachments/20130820/342e9c66/attachment-0011.html 


More information about the Ngo-sanrm mailing list