Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your U.S. Senators and member of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose fast track authority and the TPP.
Did Republicans or Democrats running for Congress in the recent elections say, “Vote for me and I’ll support global trade agreements that undermine jobs, wage levels, and environmental standards at home and abroad?”
Of course not. They knew they would be voted out if they ran on that platform.
Yet, Republican leaders and President Obama are saying after the election that they want to join together to pass a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with 11 other countries, along with so-called “fast track” authority that would let them ram it through.
TPP would be a massive agreement sought by Wall Street, the drug and chemical industries, and other huge corporations. It has two basic purposes:
- To make it easier to move millions of jobs overseas and exploit workers in other countries at starvation wage levels.
- To make it easier to challenge and invalidate federal, state, and local environmental and worker safeguards or other public policies that could reduce future corporate profits.
So far the countries negotiating TPP include not only the U.S. but also such low-wage havens as Brunei, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, and Vietnam. The U.S. lead negotiator says the goal is to eventually include China as well.
The TPP is being negotiated in secret, except that more than 600 official corporate “trade advisors” have been given special access to help determine the final text.
Corporate officials now want Congress to pass “fast track” authority that would allow U.S. negotiators to present this secret deal for one up-or-down vote with no chance for the public to question specific provisions or for Congress to mandate amendments.
Together, labor, environmental, and community groups defeated fast track authority when Republicans and President Clinton tried to pass it in 1997, and we can defeat it again now.
Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and tell your U.S. Senators and member of the U.S. House of Representatives to oppose fast track authority and the TPP.
Tell them that international agreements should be designed to improve worker and environmental protections around the world, not to bring them down to the lowest level for the benefit of corporate special interests.
