Published In

Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2015

Subjects

Free trade -- Pacific Area, Free trade -- United States, Pacific Area -- Commerce -- United States

Abstract

The American people have become used to government trickery in foreign affairs—wars and interventions based on lies and falsified evidence, “national security” used to justify the whittling away of privacy, classification of documents to hide embarrassing disclosures, massaging of budget figures to mask outrageous spending on arms, and demands for new weapons when already in possession of an unmatched conventional and nuclear arsenal.

Now comes trickery in a different domain: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which has substantial bipartisan support and strong presidential endorsement. Eleven countries are awaiting the outcome in Congress as President Obama seeks approval to put the TPP on a "fast track," meaning skipping hearings, public input, and amendments and going directly to an up-or-down vote after 90 days to review. Once passed, the TPP will do for US corporations operating in Asia what the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) did for them in Canada and Mexico—provide new incentives to send jobs abroad, increase corporate earnings, and downgrade protections of the environment and workers at home as well as abroad.

Description

This is the publisher's PDF. Originally published in Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus and can be found online at: http://japanfocus.org/-Mel-Gurtov/4318/article.html

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/15344

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