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Trans Pacific Partnership

One More Scandal?

Lori Wallach | Posted 05.20.2013 | Politics
Lori Wallach

What do a zombie, handcuffs, a steamroller and a legislative luge run for job-killing trade agreements all have in common? They're all apt metaphors of an expired, scandalously anti-democratic procedure called Fast Track.

Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership the Solution to Latin America's Fractured Trade Regime?

Daniel Wagner | Posted 05.16.2013 | World
Daniel Wagner

Many hope an agreement on the TPP will provide a much-needed boost to a still prostrate global economy, but what is being widely hailed as profound progress in the evolution of trade integration globally is having the opposite effect in Latin America.

Upcoming Trans-Pacific Partnership Looks Like Corporate Takeover

Dave Johnson | Posted 05.15.2013 | Business
Dave Johnson

It will be sold as a trade agreement (because everyone knows that "trade" is good) but much of it appears to be (from what we know) a corporate end-run around things We the People want to do to reign in the giant corporations -- like Wall Street regulation, environmental regulation and corporate taxation.

Obama's Economic Vision: The U.S. as a Third World Nation

Curtis Ellis | Posted 05.14.2013 | Politics
Curtis Ellis

It's no surprise an administration as tied to Wall Street as this one is taking the side of the financial sector. But it's even worse: If the administration has its way, neither Congress nor any government official, elected or appointed, would have any say in the matter.

U.S. Exports Drop Under Korea Trade Deal and Obama Said What?!

Lori Wallach | Posted 05.10.2013 | Politics
Lori Wallach

Contrary to the administration's claims of its export-expansion prowess, the steep decline in U.S. exports to Korea under the FTA contributed to an overall disappointing U.S. export performance in 2012.

Pentagon Says China Military Behind Cyberattacks: Selling China the Rope to Hang Us

Curtis Ellis | Posted 05.07.2013 | Politics
Curtis Ellis

We don't need to pivot to Asia. We need to pivot to America and tell the multinational chieftains to stop selling China the rope it's using to hang us.

The Elephants in the Room: Citizens United, Trade and Corporate Ownership of Our Natural Resources

Wenonah Hauter | Posted 04.24.2013 | Green
Wenonah Hauter

How has consolidation enabled Monsanto, Tyson, Nestle, Kraft, Cargill, McDonalds and other food/ag/chemical companies to write our food policy, and why is about to get worse?

Death Threats Remain Rampant Under Obama's Colombia FTA

Lori Wallach | Posted 04.16.2013 | World
Lori Wallach

What change in Colombia could possibly have led a Democratic president to implement a trade agreement over the objections of Democrats in Congress with the country infamous around the world for its violence against unionists?

Zach Carter

Obama's EU Trade Deal Would Include New Political Powers For Corporations

HuffingtonPost.com | Zach Carter | Posted 04.04.2013 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is pursuing a free trade agreement with the European Union that would grant corporations new political power to...

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Would Destroy our National Sovereignty

Michele Nash-Hoff | Posted 05.01.2013 | Business
Michele Nash-Hoff

TPP is a direct threat to American national sovereignty, the U.S. Constitution and American-owned businesses. TPP would destroy American jobs and our independence. It would have a negative impact on jobs, the safety of our food, Internet freedom, our right to "Buy American" and our laws.

SOTU, TPP, TAFTA -- WTF?

Lori Wallach | Posted 04.15.2013 | Politics
Lori Wallach

Did you notice the two rabid skunks President Obama unleashed at the State of the Union picnic?

Zach Carter

Obama Pushes Controversial Trade Deals

HuffingtonPost.com | Zach Carter | Posted 02.12.2013 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama used his State of the Union address Tuesday night to urge the United States to pass two key trade agreements, inc...

Latest WTO Lunacy: Poker and Piracy Together at Last

Lori Wallach | Posted 03.31.2013 | World
Lori Wallach

On Monday the World Trade Organization (WTO) officially authorized Caribbean nation Antigua to sell $21 million in "pirated" U.S.-copyrighted music, films and computer programs in retaliation for the United States failing to comply with a 2005 WTO order to allow online gambling here. Say what?

5 Ways Your Internet Freedom Is At Risk

The Huffington Post | Gerry Smith | Posted 01.21.2013 | Technology

Internet activists on Friday celebrated Internet Freedom Day, marking the one year anniversary of widespread online protests against controversial ant...

Our Failed Trade Policies Are Not Creating Jobs at Home

Pearl Korn | Posted 03.05.2013 | Politics
Pearl Korn

While the ugly and rancorous "fiscal cliff" battle has been playing out in Washington, another negotiation equally critical for America was also being conducted, this one behind closed doors far across the ocean: the impending Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

Transatlantic Free Trade Must Be Done Right

Iain Murray | Posted 02.09.2013 | Business
Iain Murray

There's a buzz in both Berlin and D.C. these days for free trade as a potential path back to growth for ailing economies. Indeed, a Transatlantic Free Trade area would be a very good idea -- but a highly regulated trade area would not deliver the benefits promised.

What If We Did Trade Right?

Stan Sorscher | Posted 01.29.2013 | Business
Stan Sorscher

Everyone I know is in favor of trade done right. But global trade agreements go overboard in protecting investor rights.

Fracking Causes Friction Between Trade And Environment

Ilana Solomon | Posted 01.16.2013 | Green
Ilana Solomon

The truth is becoming clear -- trade rules are being used to threaten policies that protect wildlife, preserve scarce natural resources, and promote clean energy and green jobs.

Senators Agree: Trade Must Protect the Environment

Ilana Solomon | Posted 12.23.2012 | Green
Ilana Solomon

A strong environment chapter is certainly not the only part of a trade agreement necessary to protect our land, water, and natural resources, but it is especially critical when viewed in historical context and in the current context of the TPP negotiations.

Obama, Romney 'Trade Pact' Malarkey vs. Reality: The Data Is In

Lori Wallach | Posted 12.15.2012 | Politics
Lori Wallach

In an election dominated by the urgent agenda of U.S. job creation, it is a sorry statement about the domination of corporate money in American elections that both presidential candidates tout NAFTA-style "free trade" deals.

Fair Wages for Fair Trade

Joel Richard Paul | Posted 12.10.2012 | World
Joel Richard Paul

Guaranteeing a fair local wage would empower developing countries to raise their labor standards. By improving the conditions and livelihood of foreign workers the Trans-Pacific Partnership can create new markets and stimulate world economic growth.

Shipping Bytes Across Borders

Jake Colvin | Posted 11.27.2012 | Technology
Jake Colvin

As the world increasingly adopts digital technologies and habits, improving the framework for information flows is essential to preserve the ability of innovators and entrepreneurs everywhere to participate effectively in the global marketplace of the 21st Century.

Leesburg Leaves Trade Questions Unanswered

Ilana Solomon | Posted 11.19.2012 | Green
Ilana Solomon

I've just returned from another round of Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact negotiations, held in Leesburg, Virginia.

America's Looming IP Drain

Robert D. Atkinson, Ph.D. | Posted 11.19.2012 | Business
Robert D. Atkinson, Ph.D.

If the U.S. fails to secure high IP standards in the new trade arrangements it enters into, the future banquet of consequences will present a bleak feast for its workers and economy.

It Shouldn't Have Taken Occupy, But It Did. Now, What's Next?

Robert Weissman | Posted 11.14.2012 | Politics
Robert Weissman

While the occupations have ended -- thanks in no small part to a harsh police crackdown -- it would be a mistake to assume the Occupy movement is over. Social movements have a way of metamorphosing and resurging in unpredictable ways.