Your freedom of choice and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership pact

[gotsnowgotslush]

June 20, 2013
President Barack Obama and his family return to Washington after attending the G8 summit
in Northern Ireland and a state visit to Germany.

What did he discuss with the other leaders ?

What kind of freedom will you have, when intellectual property rights are decided on ? What kinds of choices will you have
after regulations have been agreed on ?

TTIP

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership pact

On Monday, the European Union and the United States launched long-awaited formal negotiations to create what would be
the world's biggest ever free trade area, with the first round of talks taking place next month.

http://www.alternet.org/progressive-wire/senate-confirms-obamas-new-trade-rep-froman

Some key Democrats, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, bucked President Barack Obama and opposed Froman
for his refusal to agree to be more transparent in trade deals, particularly the huge Pacific trade agreement currently
under negotiation.

Warren joined several fellow Democrats in the Senate and House in voicing alarm to Obama over the Trans-Pacific Partnership,
warning of the poor transparency record of the Office of the US Trade Representative.

The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved White House international economic affairs adviser
Michael Froman to be the next U.S. trade representative, sending him into the fray of two huge
trade negotiations in Asia and Europe.

http://www.alternet.org/progressive-wire/senate-confirms-obamas-new-trade-rep-froman

"Economists are often mocked for free-trade worship, but they’re skeptical when appropriate. Jacob Viner, a University
of Chicago economist, argued in 1950 that free-trade agreements don’t necessarily promote free trade. Trade deals
have two effects, he said: They create trade by lowering the cost of international exchange, but they also divert it by
the selective reduction of barriers. Whether the first or the second effect predominates determines whether the deal
is good or bad."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...snt-about-marco-rubio-its-about-john-boehner/

There are concerns that the U.S. could use these talks to push the EU to loosen its restrictions on genetically modified
crops and foods. In addition, the deal might serve as a backdoor means to implement ACTA which was rejected by the
European Parliament last year. A U.S.-EU Transatlantic trade agreement is seen as a way of countering China’s growing
power and is the foundation for a new global economic order.

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/02/us-eu-trade-deal-is-foundation-for-new.html

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

Something is looming in the shadows that could help erode our basic rights and contaminate our food. The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)
has the potential to become the biggest regional Free Trade Agreement in history, both in economic size and the ability to quietly add more
countries in addition to those originally included. As of 2011 its 11 countries accounted for 30 percent of the world’s agricultural exports.

Those countries are the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Viet Nam. Recently, Japan
has joined the negotiations.

Six hundred US corporate advisors have had input into the TPP. The draft text has not been made available to the public, press or policy makers.
The level of secrecy around this agreement is unparalleled. The majority of Congress is being kept in the dark while representatives of US
corporations are being consulted and privy to the details.

The chief agricultural negotiator for the US is the former Monsanto lobbyist, Islam Siddique. If ratified the TPP would impose punishing regulations
that give multinational corporations unprecedented right to demand taxpayer compensation for policies that corporations deem a barrier to their
profits.


http://www.nationofchange.org/trans-pacific-partnership-and-monsanto-1372074730

Though TPP content remains hidden, here are some things we do know:

Members of Congress are concerned that the TPP would open the door to imports without resolving questions around food safety or
environmental impacts on its production.

Procurement rules specifically forbid discrimination based on the quality of production. This means that public programs that favor the use of
sustainably produced local foods in school lunch programs could be prohibited.

The labeling of foods containing GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) will not be allowed. Japan currently has labeling laws for GMOs in food.
Under the TPP Japan would no longer be able to label GMOs. This situation is the same for New Zealand and Australia. In the US we are just
beginning to see some progress towards labeling GMOs. Under the TPP GMO labels for US food would not be allowed.

In April 2013, Peru placed a 10-year moratorium on GMO foods and plants. This prohibits the import, production and use of GMOs in foods and
GMO plants and is aimed at safeguarding Peru’s agricultural diversity. The hope is to prevent cross-pollination with non-GMO crops and to ban
GMO crops like Bt corn.

What will become of Peru’s moratorium if the TPP is passed?

There is a growing resistance to Monsanto’s agricultural plans in Vietnam. Monsanto (the US corporation controlling an estimated 90% of the
world seed genetics) has a dark history with Vietnam.

Many believe that Monsanto has no right to do business in a country where Monsanto’s product Agent Orange is estimated to have killed
400,000 Vietnamese, deformed another 500,000 and stricken another 2 million with various diseases.

 

[gotsnowgotslush]

As part of negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the European Union wants the U.S. to prohibit food makers here from using names with historical ties to Europe.

That means popular cheeses like Gruyere, Brie and Parmesan could all be in line for a name change, thanks to the EU's proposed restrictions.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...-to-lay-off-brie-and-get-its-own-cheese-names

 

[renard_ruse]

I somehow missed this at the time. I've long joked about the US eventually being swallowed up by the EU, but it looks like I wasn't so far off.

No question in my mind that this has a major league connection to what's going in Ukraine. The US/EU fear the emergence of a rival trade block (even one significantly smaller and less wealthy) such as the Eurasian Union, and Russia, understandably fears eventually being swallowed up this Transatlantic union.

Ukraine really is a battle for the future of the world, not ideologically as in the past, but in terms of economics and strategic multipolarity.

 

[bill-pix-trade]

Ukraine really is a battle for the future of the world, not ideologically as in the past, but in terms of economics and strategic multipolarity.

The wold would be fine with a split up Ukraine it means nothing.

Let Europe pay the bills for it's defense. Naw fuck that they will just try to kill each other again.