Why the TPP and Fast Track Are So Dangerous

Congress Has Shackled the American People on TPP

Just how bad is the agreement to fast-track Congressional review of the proposed Trans-Pacific "Partnership"?  The article at the link above gives a good overview of the current situation.  The picture is downright ugly;  there is no other way to say it.

This is not the first time Congress has tied America's interests to special interests.  Remember NAFTA?  Ross Perot got it wrong only regarding the sound or lack thereof, as jobs have been lost due to that infamous trade agreement.  There hasn't been so much a "giant sucking sound" as a silent sinking, as in quicksand, while workers livelihoods are slowly, inexorably sucked under never to be seen again.

But the TPP is worse, according to experts.  In many practical ways, America's interests will be tied directly to the interests of nations such as Brunei and Japan.  Rather than my trying to delineate all these evil effects, it is best simply to refer you to the article at Huffington Post.  The excerpt below will get you started.

Congress is shackling itself in two ways. First, through the grant of trade promotion authority, Congress removes its power to amend the agreement's text. This loss of Congressional power is not a problem when it comes to traditional trade issues such as tariffs. But it is a major problem when it comes to the details of regulation, such as IP regulation, because regulatory details have severe implications for public welfare. Trade promotion authority fetters Congress so that it cannot reshape the legal texts, precluding reforms.
Second, after the TPP is enacted, if it hurts America's interests, Congress can't easily amend the law afterwards. Rather, the treaty will bind Congress so that eleven other countries would have to approve any amendment. Otherwise, the United States would be in violation of international law and subject to sanctions.
Even more damaging to America's interests, to enforce these provisions, the TPP allows multinational companies to sue the U.S. as well as TPP member countriesbefore private arbitral tribunals if the country amends or interprets its IP laws in ways that a company alleges violates TPP constraints. The process - called investor-state dispute settlement - bypasses U.S. courts and the decisions of these private tribunals cannot be appealed.  [italics mine]
In short, Congress will have put itself in a policy straight jacket at a time of rapid technological change. 

                                                                                         -- Prof. Michelle Goodwin