Wikileaks Nails TPP, Other Trade Agreements for Surrendering National Sovereignty, More
By Hazel Sheffield. Wikileaks has warned that governments negotiating a far-reaching global service agreement are ‘surrendering a large part of their global sovereignty’ and exacerbating the social inequality of poorer countries in the process.
The Trade in Services Agreement exposed in a 17 document dump by Wikileaks on Thursday relates to ongoing negotiations to lock market liberalisations into global law.
If a country like China wanted to join, it would have to scrap all discriminatory practices against foreign firms – so discrimination against a foreign firm opening a hospital in China would be banned, for example.
Under the agreement, retailers like Zara or Marks & Spencers would have the right to open stores in any of the signing countries and be treated like domestic companies. A nationalised service, such as the British telecoms industry in the eighties, would have to ensure it was not harming competition under these terms.
“Nothing it will do to extend the liberalisation but it locks in those rules in case of a coup d’etat,” Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, director of European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) and a leading author on trade diplomacy, told The Independent. (Read more from “Wikileaks Just Exposed Trade Agreements Like TPP, TTIP for Surrendering National Sovereignty” HERE)
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Trade Supporters Bullish as Vote Nears
By Mike Lillis and Scott Wong. House GOP leaders are expressing a bold new confidence heading into the final stretch of the divisive fight over granting President Obama broad trade powers.
The vote, expected as soon as this week, is likely to be a nail-biter — scores of lawmakers in both parties remain publicly undecided, making the count on both sides difficult to pin down.
But both the White House and GOP leaders say their whipping efforts are paying dividends, with new supporters signing on by the day.
The White House won a victory last week when Reps. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Don Beyer (Va.) and Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.) announced their support. And both Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said that, while they don’t have the votes yet, they expect to very soon.
“If we don’t get it done in June, I don’t know why you’d think we can get it done in July,” said Boehner, who’s been coordinating efforts with the White House and recently spoke with Obama. “We need to get this finished. We’re gonna get it done.” (Read more from this story HERE)
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