Full Text of Trans-Pacific Partnership Released (Officially, This Time) (mfat.govt.nz)

EmagGeek writes: The full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, has been officially released, and is available for the public to see. According to CNN, The TPP is a 12-nation deal that touches on 40% of the global economy. The provisions of the deal would knock down tariffs and import quotas, making it cheaper to import and export, and open new Asia-Pacific markets. Negotiations have been going on for years, led by the United States and Japan — with China conspicuously absent from the list of signees.

Comments

This is fantastic.

[gavron]

I once went on a date where the girl said "I am going to set everything up. It will be a surprise. You'll like it! Don't try to guess what's going to happen!"

It was a great time!

The TTP is almost like that. We don't know what's coming until it does; we all get fucked; big pharma and big media have a great time.

E

Re:This is fantastic.

[gstoddart]

So the TPP is all about movies, drugs, and sex that one partner enjoys way more than the other?

Sure, if you mean using date rape drugs and filming it ... because that's pretty much what this stupid deal is doing to us.

It's a grab bag of stuff from the wishlist of multinational corporations, pushed through by people who are more beholden to corporate profits than their own citizens, and largely written by the industries it benefits.

Mark my words, this really is just more "race to the bottom" crap, and won't benefit citizens.

Re:This is fantastic.

[Zak3056]

You're welcome? It's not like we (citizens) have any say in what our government does. That's the greatest illusion in history. Federal elections are decided by who has the most money from "Special interests".

The older I get, the more I reject that notion. Sure, the media is manipulating you and election season is a three ring circus, and yes, there is undoubtedly election fraud that nudges things a bit, but in the end, the people still vote, and the people elect the government they deserve. Everyone pretty much agrees with YOUR statement, "special interests blah blah blah" but upwards of 90% of you (at least the ones that vote) KEEP VOTING FOR THE SAME PEOPLE! What the fuck do you expect is going to happen?

Douglas Adams summed the situation up really well in So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish:

“On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”

“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”

“I did,” said Ford. “It is.”

“So,” said Arthur, hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”

“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”

“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”

“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug, “of course.”

“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”

“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in.”

It also does away with national sovereigty!

[pecosdave]

Do you want to outlaw something traded under this agreement in your own country?
Nope! Your government will be tried in an international court!

Want to legalize something not legal in this agreement or buy it from a supplier not under the agreement while one who is under it sells it at a higher price?
Nope! Your government will be tried in an international court!

Trade is only the excuse for this agreement. Just like the patriot act and affordable care act specifics are so vague it to allow any interpretation desired by those who head up the agreement. It's also structures in such a way that nations not complying with changes afterward will be punished. This is not an "agreement" as it's called, it's a treaty. Notice corporation wrote most of it.

This is the official handing over of the government to corporations. It's been happening in practice, but that pesky constitution and balance of powers occasionally gets in the way. This is the bypass for it.

If you DON'T bully your representatives, beg, plead and even threaten them to keep this from passing we're all going to be part of the "expanded EU".

Re:It also does away with national sovereigty!

[gstoddart]

Well, here's the problem with all of this: this was a treaty America wanted, actively pushed it as being important, and allowed industry to write most of it (like all US laws and treaties are written by industry).

America pushed this on the rest of the world, not the other way around.

If there's a treaty expanding copyright terms and otherwise giving corporations the upper hand, it's being championed by Americans, and pushed on other countries.

Sorry, but this is hardly the first treaty the US has championed which only serves corporate interests. And the rest of the world has no sympathy when Americans suddenly say how bad this treaty is -- because it's your government who pushed for it.

Your government has been so thoroughly coopted to serve the interests of huge multinationals, you should be yelling at your own politicians, instead of acting tough by saying you'll grow a pair and tell the world this is an unfair treaty. We already know this.

Why do Americans keep thinking this is being done to you by other countries? It's your own politicians who drive this crap.

So don't whine about your sovereignty, because this is what the rest of the world has been dealing with for years. And it usually is the US threatening trade sanctions if we don't give up OUR sovereignty for YOUR interests.

Cry us a river, you're not the only ones getting fucked over here. But you have been driving the bus.

Remember Trump and Sanders

[liquid_schwartz]

Remember that only 2 people are against this: Trump and Sanders. The Clinton's gave us NAFTA and fully supported this agreement as the gold standard. The Republicans always push for "free trade". For the sake of yourselves and your children vote either Trump or Sanders. If it weren't for "free trade" we'd all be making approximately double what we are now as shown here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/bus...

or here:

http://www.epi.org/blog/inequa...

Re:Remember Trump and Sanders

[bluefoxlucid]

Protectionism is a good way to make an economy poor. People have this ideal that they'll make twice as much salary and have a bigger piece of the pie, except they don't realize the pie just gets smaller.