Finally defeating the TPP is a necessary first step. Building the alternatives through agroecology will be a vital element of a new approach. IATP’s Karen Hansen-Kuhn brings us some inspiration from farmer organisations in Mexico, from her 2016 visit. […]
Amended 03/08/2015 00.18 UTC The current round of TPP negotiations have ended without agreement in Hawaii. This has implications for TTIP – the EU US negotiations – because of the interrelated nature of these deals. Here is brief roundup of perspectives as to why the talks have ground to a halt. Reuters (01/08/2015) “Pacific Rim trade ministers failed to clinch a deal on Friday to free up trade between a dozen nations after a dispute flared up over auto trade between Japan and North America, while New Zealand dug in over dairy trade and no agreement was reached on monopoly periods for next-generation drugs… The talks, which drew about 650 negotiators, 150 journalists and hundreds of stakeholders, had been billed as the last chance to get a deal in time to pass the U.S. Congress this year, before 2016 presidential elections muddy the waters. It’s Our Future (01/08/2015) (New Zealand based network of activists, academics and interested citizens) were stronger in their language: “‘The “final” ministerial meeting on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) in Maui has failed. […]
On June 29th US president Barack Obama signed Fast Track, better known as the Trade Promotion Authority. This follows the vote on 23rd June – by the narrowest of margins possible – in the US Senate to approve this controversial procedure. […]
ARC2020 UPDATE and Comment 28/05/2015 According to leaked EU Commission documents mandatory origin labeling for food will not be introduced. While there is already a voluntary label on mainstream meat products, both milk products and other meat products (such as “horse meat, rabbit and game”) will also only be eligible for the voluntary label. There will be no mandatory label for any meat or milk or processed foods now, according to the ViEUws report, because this would lead to “higher operating costs and a hike in food prices…it would also “disrupt cross boarder trade and increase costs”. So, reports ViEUws, the EU is likely to keep this labeling as Voluntary. (See at 5 mins 51 sec in the recent ViEUws Brussels Briefing at end of this post). This is remarkably similar to the language and reasoning of the WTO, as outlined below by Shefali Sharma. This also points to significant regulatory harmonisation, a form of ISDS by the back door. Article by Shefali Sharma of IATP. On May 8th, President Obama told a crowd in Oregon: […]
Stop Calling the TPP A Trade Agreement – It Isn’t. By Dave Johnson. This a message to activists trying to fight the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Stop calling the TPP a “trade” agreement. TPP is a corporate/investor rights agreement, not a “trade” agreement. “Trade” is a good thing; TPP is not. Every time you use the word “trade” in association with the TPP, you are helping the other side. “Trade” is a propaganda word. It short-circuits thinking. People hear “trade” and the brain stops working. People think, “Of course, trade is good.” And that ends the discussion. Calling TPP a “trade” agreement lets the pro-TPP people argue that TPP is about trade instead of what it is really about. It diverts attention from the real problem. It enables advocates to say things like, “95 percent of the world lives outside the U.S.” as if that has anything to do with TPP. It lets them say, “We know that exports support American jobs” to sell a corporate rights agreement. It enables them to say nonsense like this about […]
TPP has been dealt a hammer blow by Democrats in the US Senate. TTIP has been impacted too, as we reveal…. […]
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