TPP: Okay, bad, or very bad?

[Terxpahseyton]

Well, the free-trade-mantra certainly is one of the biggest ideological successes of the 21th century. People seem to assume that this aspect is not even worth thinking about. Just common knowledge, right?

Obviously, trade has had an immensely positive effect on wealth. Obviously, trade has immense vast potential.

Trade also has turned rising wages into stagnant wages, in the Western world.

Trade also pressures nations to lower their standards, cut social security and employees' rights.

There is an intriguing case to be made that the proposed free-trade-agreement between the EU and the USA may actually be a net negative thing for the EU. In short: Because the USA got lower standards and cheaper energy.

Trade is a complex topic, mkay.
But whatever, not that anything will change

 

[Cheetah]

The full text is out!

One of the most controversial chapters in the deal concerns intellectual property. In an e-mail to Ars, James Love, the director of Knowledge Ecology International, said:

In the IP Chapter, the TPP locks in a number of anti-consumer measures, and imposes higher standards for IP on poor countries, after their transition periods. One impact of the IP chapter is to gut provisions in US law to encourage more transparency of patents on biologic drugs, and to make infringement of any patent or copyright more risky and costly.

In the investment chapter, the TPP gives private companies the right to bring cases and get fines when a country does not meet its obligations, for the IP chapter, and for pretty much all the other chapters too.

In the transparency annex, the TPP requires countries to give drug companies more rights to monitor and challenge government decisions on reimbursements on drugs, basically to hassle and sue governments when they push back on high drug prices.

Meanwhile, the deal also exports US copyright law regarding how long a copyright lasts. The plan, which now needs approval from all the pact's member nations, makes copyrights last for the life of the creator plus 70 years after death. That's basically the same as in the US.

Source

Other interesting pieces:

Governments ... will be unable to force companies from those countries to store government data in local datacentres ... governments will not only be prevented from mandating data sovereignty provision, they will also be unable to demand access to source code from companies incorporated in TPP territories.

and

Article 18.76: Special Requirements related to Border Measures 

  5. Each Party shall provide that its competent authorities 
  may initiate border measures ex officio [118] with respect 
  to goods under customs control that are:  

    (a) imported; (b) destined for export; (c) in transit,

  and that are suspected of being counterfeit trademark 
  goods or pirated copyright goods. 

  [118]  For greater certainty, ex officio action does 
         not require a formal complaint from a third party 
         or right holder.

 

[Arakhor]

How is this Shadowrun-style legislation even being looked at twice? What possible benefits does it have for anybody not in government or corporate finance? It sounds like a complete disaster.

 

[Antilogic]

How is this Shadowrun-style legislation even being looked at twice? What possible benefits does it have for anybody not in government or corporate finance? It sounds like a complete disaster.

The people it detrimentally affects were not given a seat at the table during the secret negotiations. Should we really be surprised that it massively favors corporate interests?

 

[Arakhor]

If corporations wrote the text, not at all. What is surprising is that governments on this side of the Atlantic are apparently even considering it.

 

[Antilogic]

To be fair, that's the TTIP. It's totes different because it has a different acronym, even though the content is similar from the leaks we've seen.

 

[warpus]

What is surprising is that governments on this side of the Atlantic are apparently even considering it.

Isn't it the Pacific partnership?

And I'm not surprised that countries everywhere are not bowing out of this. Nobody wants to be left out of a comprehensive free trade agreement - you don't want your neighbours to be given access to new markets and trade options and you left out in the cold. I mean, especially in this shake world economy we seem to be living in - every little push can help.

But hopefully now that the text is released people can analyze it in full and communicate to the sane leaders of ours what the downfalls might be. And I'm sure some leaders might not care, but I think Trudeau would.

 

[kiwitt]

Trouble is it is not a 'Free Trade' agreement, because instead of tariffs they have limits. True 'free trade' should allow as much as you like to be imported and exported.

 

[warpus]

Trouble is it is not a 'Free Trade' agreement, because instead of tariffs they have limits. True 'free trade' should allow as much as you like to be imported and exported.

It's just a name, I don't think any free trade agreement really opens up everything.