[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-0019.html
More information about the Ngo-sanrm
mailing list