TPP
So, the full text of the TPP has been released and you better take notice. This is some serious business and i'll list a few reasons as to why but first im gonna describe what the TPP is and what it means. TPP (other known as Trans-Pacific Partnership) is a trade agreement that will allow large companies to sue governments at international, national and local levels if their decisions and laws will hurt the companies expected earnings. Meaning, that if a government wants to merely regulate a factory poisining the surrounding area the government can run the risk of being sued by the factories company because the regulation would mean a smaller profit for the company.
- The document doesn't take climate change into consideration.This document is full of handouts to the fossil fuel industry, but they never speak about climate change. What they mention is giving the fossil fuel companies the extraordinary ability to sue local governments that try and keep fossil fuels in the ground. In other words, make politicians and activists scared of even trying to limit the pollution from the company.
- The TPP attacks organic and healthy food. Wenonah Hauter, Food & Water Watch executive director said in an interview that corporate entities want to use trade deals like the TPP āto attack sensible food safety rules, weaken the inspection of imported food, and block efforts to strengthenU.S. food safety standards.ā To summarize, the TPP will allow big agricultural companies to lower the quality of their food to earn more money.
- The TPP opposes free speech and want's to regulate the internet.āIf U.S. Congress signs this agreement despite its blatant corruption, theyāll be signing a death warrant for the open Internet and putting the future of free speech in peril,ā stated Evan Greer, Fight for the Future (FFTF) campaign director. Section J which adresses Internet State providers (ISPs) āis one of the worst sections that impacts the openness of the Internet,''. āThis section requires Internet Service Providers to play ācopyright copsā and assist in the enforcement of copyright takedown requests ā but it does not require countries to have a system for counter-notices, so a U.S company could order a website to be taken down in another country, and there would be no way for the person running that website to refute their claims if, say, it was a political criticism website using copyrighted content in a manner consistent with fair use.''
There are already instances where governments and lawmakers have been sued. A swedish energy company called Vattenfall tried suing the German government for closing two of their nuclear power plants in Germany. The same thing happened to Uruguay when they wanted to increase the size of warning labels on cigarette packages. Even law-suggestions in the EU have been trashed in the fear of interfering with companies profit.
Some people argue that this is something good and it will provide jobs. The job part might be true to an extent, but it will come at the cost of quality food, the enviroment, free speech, affordable healthcare, public health and more. This bill is just a way for the richer to become richer by instilling the fear of extreme court in the people opposing the companies ideas. This is something our generation has to fight against or a free and quality life will go extinct.
Sources: http://theantimedia.org/our-worst-nightmares-confirmed-full-text-of-tpp-finally-revealed/2016-05-26
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/nuclear/swedish-energy-giant-vattenfall-nets-billions-for-nuclear-phaseout2016-05-26
https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text 2016-05-26
