President Obama is negotiating two massive trade deals
that will put our democracy, food safety, Internet freedoms and access
to life-saving medicines in danger. Last night during the State of the
Union, along with a slate of progressive ideas, he disturbingly called
for a bill that would allow these deals to bypass Congress, forgoing Constitutionally-protected democratic oversight.
This secret agreement represents a corporate takeover of government. And nobody knows about it.
The truth is out: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement represents a Hollywood and Pharma wish-list that would make SOPA-like internet censorship the norm -- all over the world. It's political corruption at it's worst: Our government is doing the bidding of its elite benefactors, and defying the will of the people.
And the US government has kept negotiations over the TPP completely secret. But WikiLeaks leaked some of the proposal. And it's terrible news for the public.
They’ve realized they can’t pass legislation like SOPA through the democratic process -- because the people don’t want it -- so they're using the secret treaty process to pass it by other means with corporate interests lining up to have their demands included before the public knows what hit them.
They thought they could keep it all secret until the very last minute, and then force Congress to approve the treaty with no debate, no public oversight, no amendments. But that plan failed.
We know what they're trying to do. And we can stop them. WikiLeaks has taken the first step. A loud public outcry is the only thing that can throw a wrench in their plans to implement secret trade deals that only benefit corporate interests. But we need to act now -- before it's too late.
Thanks,
The folks at Rootstrikers.org
World leaders are working alongside major corporations to pass these dangerous deals -- and they are refusing to tell us what’s inside the agreements.
Leaks from the negotiations paint a terrible picture of what the world could be like if these deals pass: sky-high costs for life-saving cancer treatment, further devastation of the world’s poor, and the right for big corporations to sue governments in secret courts for billions -- just for passing laws that protect families, workers and the planet.
With only 4 days to go until the last round of negotiations for one of the deals begins, we need to get access to these texts urgently so we can have an open debate about what promises our government is making about our future.
Use the form on the right to add your name the petition to
global leaders to publish the secret draft texts of these trade deals
now.
Trade deals used to be about trade -- but now they’re being used as a tool to sneak major changes to our democratic laws and regulatory systems that benefit corporations, and hurt us.
The need to end the secrecy around trade negotiations is more urgent than ever. In 4 days leaders from 12 countries are gathering in New York for the last round of Trans-Pacific Partnership talks ever,
to try and finalize this Trojan Horse of a deal -- and they’re hoping
to ram the deal through by March. Leaders are also racing to finalize
another deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP),
between the EU and United States.
The TPP and TTIP would give corporations the right to sue our
government for passing laws that threaten expected profits -- and taxpayers would be forced to pay the fees. And we don’t even know the half of it because the texts of these deals are under lock and key.
It’s not unprecedented for countries to agree to release the text of a deal before it’s final -- it's happened before. Just last week the EU Ombudsman called on the European Commission to publish more documents from the TTIP
-- thanks in part to SumOfUs members who submitted comments. With
momentum building, this is a key moment to call on our leaders for trade
transparency.
It only takes one single country to agree to release the text of one
of these agreements to push others to do the same. If enough of us come
together now, we can force our leaders to stop negotiating in secret and
release the texts once and for all.
Sign the petition to
global leaders to stop negotiating in secret and immediately publish the
text of the TPP and TTIP agreements?
Global opposition to the TPP and TTIP is growing to a fever pitch. SumOfUs members and allies have been instrumental at raising the profile on these secret trade deals. We’ve showed up outside talks across the world,
held demonstrations, snuck inside hotels where negotiations were taking
place to distribute flyers to sleeping negotiators, campaigned against
elected officials, ran full-page ads in newspapers, and landed dozens of
press stories.
Obama is desperate to pass TPP by March to claim credit for the deal
during his presidency. Let's make sure this dangerous deal is not part
of that legacy.
**********
Further reading:
Parliament round-up: MEPs give mixed response to release of TTIP documents. The Parliament Magazine. 12 January 2015.
U.S. senator says Pacific trade deal on 'two-month trajectory'. Reuters. January 13, 2015.
This secret agreement represents a corporate takeover of government. And nobody knows about it.
The truth is out: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement represents a Hollywood and Pharma wish-list that would make SOPA-like internet censorship the norm -- all over the world. It's political corruption at it's worst: Our government is doing the bidding of its elite benefactors, and defying the will of the people.
And the US government has kept negotiations over the TPP completely secret. But WikiLeaks leaked some of the proposal. And it's terrible news for the public.
They’ve realized they can’t pass legislation like SOPA through the democratic process -- because the people don’t want it -- so they're using the secret treaty process to pass it by other means with corporate interests lining up to have their demands included before the public knows what hit them.
They thought they could keep it all secret until the very last minute, and then force Congress to approve the treaty with no debate, no public oversight, no amendments. But that plan failed.
We know what they're trying to do. And we can stop them. WikiLeaks has taken the first step. A loud public outcry is the only thing that can throw a wrench in their plans to implement secret trade deals that only benefit corporate interests. But we need to act now -- before it's too late.
PETITION TO CONGRESS: The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a treaty designed to serve the interests of massive corporations to the detriment of the world's citizens. It would impose extreme regulations and stifle innovation. I demand that my government oppose this agreement.Click here to sign -- it just takes a second.
Thanks,
The folks at Rootstrikers.org
