To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
No More Trade Agreements That Exacerbate Climate Change!
At his 2013 State of the Union Address, President Obama committed to pledged to take action on climate change, but also stated his intent to push two new free trade agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. These objectives are unavoidably in conflict.
Free trade agreements (FTAs):
• grant foreign investors in fossil fuel extraction and biofuel plantation projects the power to sue governments in international tribunals for enforcing environmental laws.
• expand consumption of high carbon footprint animal products and agricultural commodities produced using fossil fuel intensive industrial agriculture.
• prohibit environmental selective purchasing agreements via state procurement rules.
• undermine “buy local” campaigns that reduce fuel use in transportation of goods.
• contribute to deforestation through highway construction for international shipping.
President Obama has called on Congress to grant him Fast Track Authority, which will force Congress to vote on TPP and TTIP without changing a single word of these agreements – undermining the role the Constitution sets for Congress in international agreements and preventing Congress from modifying the most potentially environmentally destructive aspects of these agreements.
Please vote against Fast Track Authority for these agreements and vote against the agreements themselves if they reach the floor of Congress.
Free trade agreements (FTAs):
• grant foreign investors in fossil fuel extraction and biofuel plantation projects the power to sue governments in international tribunals for enforcing environmental laws.
• expand consumption of high carbon footprint animal products and agricultural commodities produced using fossil fuel intensive industrial agriculture.
• prohibit environmental selective purchasing agreements via state procurement rules.
• undermine “buy local” campaigns that reduce fuel use in transportation of goods.
• contribute to deforestation through highway construction for international shipping.
President Obama has called on Congress to grant him Fast Track Authority, which will force Congress to vote on TPP and TTIP without changing a single word of these agreements – undermining the role the Constitution sets for Congress in international agreements and preventing Congress from modifying the most potentially environmentally destructive aspects of these agreements.
Please vote against Fast Track Authority for these agreements and vote against the agreements themselves if they reach the floor of Congress.
Why is this important?
Free trade agreements like TPP and TTIP are being pushed by the industries most responsible for driving climate change, including fossil fuel and industrial agriculture interests. These agrements empower corporations to attack our environmental laws and expand market access for producers of GHG intensive agricultural products like farmed shrimp, pastured beef, and palm oil from crops grown in the place of clearcut rainforests.