There are two key players who need to hear from you today:
1. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, where the Senate fast track bill would be introduced. He has a significant amount of influence over the outcome of fast track.
2. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has not decided which way to vote on fast track. Her vote is especially important because she sits on the President's Export Council of the International Trade Administration.
Call Senator Ron Wyden and Amy Klobuchar NOW!Land Stewardship
Stop
Fast Track & the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Calls are needed NOW!
A top priority for many multi-national corporations is the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) Trade Agreement, which encompasses 12 countries located around
the Pacific Ocean: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia,
New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and Brunei. Although the TPP is
presented as a way to increase exports by eliminating trade barriers, the
reality is that this
trade agreement goes far beyond that by granting unwarranted privileges to huge
corporations, undermining local safeguards and threatening our food system.
Background
Information:
• A Lack of Transparency:
Currently, the TPP is being negotiated in secret. None of the text has
been made publicly available by the negotiators involved — details have only
come out through leaked documents. Only government trade officials and some 600
mostly “corporate advisers” have access to the text. Even our members of
Congress are without a seat at the table. So while the corporate elite have full
access, the American people have been completely shut out.
• Limiting the Voice of
American People: To make matters worse, President Barack Obama is
seeking “fast track”
authority to speed up negotiations and further limit public input. Fast
track would remove Congress’ ability to change the TPP, if it’s ever finalized,
and only allow for a “yes” or “no” vote on whatever is developed, with almost no
public scrutiny. Forcing Congress to vote on an agreement this complex without
adequate time for open hearings, review and public scrutiny will only ensure
that this agreement is designed to favor multinational corporations — not
farmers, workers or consumers.
•
Undermining Local Control and the Democratic Process: One of the most
troublesome aspects of the TPP is a clause called the “investor state dispute resolution.”
Through this clause, corporations could be granted the legal authority, just
like a country, to file a lawsuit against government municipalities if that
corporation felt local laws impeded “expected future profits.” That means if
local ordinances or state laws that protect our health, property and way of life
are "standing in the way" of corporate profits, that corporation could sue for
millions of taxpayer dollars in private international trade courts. In
Minnesota, this could mean frac sand companies would have the legal authority to
sue counties or townships for ordinances restricting frac sand mining. This
clause undermines our local democracy and gives multi-national corporations
increased power over the rights of citizens.
• A Threat to the Food
System: Many of the nations in the TPP produce food with chemicals and
antibiotics that are prohibited in the U.S., and are already shipped with
minimal safety inspections. TPP would also require that countries only enact
“scientifically justifiable” food safety regulation, making it harder for
countries to restrict the use of pesticides and food additives based on the
precautionary principle. Under the TPP, food labels such as Country of Origin
Labeling (COOL), “Union Made,” “No Antibiotics,” or “Minnesota Grown” could be
challenged as so-called 'trade barriers' rather than being recognized as
legitimate information designed to protect public health or support local
industry. Even farm-to-school programs that give preference to locally grown
food could be challenged as a barrier to international trade. It is also
important to note that, historically, international trade agreements have been
devastating to people in developing countries, forcing countless family farmers
off their land and encouraging a global race to the bottom in acceptable working
conditions as corporations relocate to improve their bottom line.
Congress ultimately decides if any trade agreement is enacted. The biggest
concern is that corporate lobbyists and their allies in Congress will use every
means necessary to pass fast track and the TPP. It is very likely that fast
track is being pushed RIGHT NOW as Congress returns to the nation's Capitol from
the Easter recess, so now is the time to make your voice heard. LSP will be
tracking this issue closely and let you know when and if fast track hits the
floor of Congress. Right now, we need your help to tell Congress that TPP should
NOT be fast tracked.
There are two key players who need to hear
from you today:
1. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden
is the Ranking Member of the Senate
Finance Committee, where the Senate fast track bill would be introduced. He has
a significant amount of influence over the outcome of fast
track.
2. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar
has not decided which way to vote
on fast track. Her vote is especially important because she sits on the
President's Export Council of the International Trade
Administration.
Call Senator Ron Wyden and Amy Klobuchar
NOW!
Senator Ron Wyden: 202-224-5244
Here is a suggested message: Hi! I am calling to leave a
message for Senator Wyden. My name is ___________ and I live in _________ and I
want him to oppose any "fast track" authority provided to the Obama
Administration for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I'm opposed to this trade
agreement because it has been done in secret, undermines labor rights, and
threatens food safety. It would also take away the rights of people to have a
say over the decisions that affect them and their communities. As a concerned
citizen, I urge Senator Wyden to oppose both fast track and the TPP.
Senator Amy Klobuchar:
202-224-3244
Here is a suggested message: Hi! I am calling to leave a
message for Senator Klobuchar. My name is ______________ and I live in
__________________ and I want her to vote against any “fast track” authority
provided to the Obama Administration for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I’m
opposed to this trade agreement because it has been done in secret, undermines
labor rights, and threatens food safety. It would also take away the rights of
people to have a say over the decisions that affect them and their communities.
As a concerned citizen of Minnesota, I urge Senator Klobuchar to side with the
people, rather than corporations, and publicly oppose both fast track and
TPP.
TAKE ACTION. Make these calls TODAY!
For more on TPP visit www.landstewardshipproject.org/organizingforchange/tpp or call
the Land Stewardship Project at 612-822-6377.
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