To: The Connecticut State House, The Connecticut State Senate, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate
Stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement in CT
We urge the CT Congressional Delegation to vote no on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Administration and the US Trade Representative have negotiated a new trade deal with 11 other nations (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore,Viet Nam and Japan) We have seen how past trade agreements, based on the same failed “free trade” model, have hurt Connecticut families. For example, Connecticut has lost more than 100,000 manufacturing jobs – more than one out of three – since the 1994 NAFTA and the World Trade Organization agreements took effect. We also urge members of the CT Legislative Assembly as well as city and town councils to speak out against the TPP.
Why is this important?
Now the Administration and the U.S. Trade Representative have reached a deal with 11 other nations on a new, secretly negotiated, massive so-called "free-trade" agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The public and the press did not have any access to the negotiations, and even Members of Congress had limited access. However, over 500 official corporate “trade advisors” representing Wal-Mart, Haliburton, Dow chemical and others have not only had access to, but also influenced, the negotiations. As the long fought for, recent release of the TPP text proves, the agreement will greatly empower corporations to challenge new consumer, health, safety, labor, privacy, and environmental regulations and have a devastating impact on CT small businesses and local farmers. The TPP would allow foreign corporations to bypass our domestic justice system to sue governments for domestic laws that they consider to undermine their “future profits” through the investor-state dispute settlement or ISDS. CT residents must reserve the right to determine our own consumer, health, safety, labor, privacy, and environmental regulations without the threat of our governments being sued by foreign corporations. Do not surrender our rights to trans-national corporations.
Despite massive popular opposition to the TPP (despite media silence) on the part of citizens of all party nations, the Obama administration is trying to bring the TPP up for a vote in Congress within months under the anti-democratic Fast Track procedure. Fast Track legislation, which limits Congressional debate on trade agreements and only allows an up-or-down vote with no amendments, was passed in June 2015 despite no votes from nearly all of the Democratic Congressional Delegation with the notable exception of Jim Himes (4th district). CT residents, like all Americans, are in the fight of our lives to urge Congress to oppose the TPP. We also urge members of the CT Legislative Assembly as well as city and town councils to speak out against the TPP.
Despite massive popular opposition to the TPP (despite media silence) on the part of citizens of all party nations, the Obama administration is trying to bring the TPP up for a vote in Congress within months under the anti-democratic Fast Track procedure. Fast Track legislation, which limits Congressional debate on trade agreements and only allows an up-or-down vote with no amendments, was passed in June 2015 despite no votes from nearly all of the Democratic Congressional Delegation with the notable exception of Jim Himes (4th district). CT residents, like all Americans, are in the fight of our lives to urge Congress to oppose the TPP. We also urge members of the CT Legislative Assembly as well as city and town councils to speak out against the TPP.