The Trans-Pacific Free-Trade Charade

Written on October 12th, 2015 in politics Comments Off

Published on Social Europe.eu, by Joseph Stiglitz and Adam Hersh, Oct 5, 2015.

As negotiators and ministers from the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries meet in Atlanta in an effort to finalize the details of the sweeping new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), some sober analysis is warranted. The biggest regional trade and investment agreement in history is not what it seems.

You will hear much about the importance of the TPP for “free trade.” The reality is that this is an agreement to manage its members’ trade and investment relations – and to do so on behalf of each country’s most powerful business lobbies. Make no mistake: It is evident from the main outstanding issues, over which negotiators are still haggling, that the TPP is not about “free” trade.  

New Zealand has threatened to walk away from the agreement over the way Canada and the US manage trade in dairy products. Australia is not happy with how the US and Mexico manage trade in sugar. And the US is not happy with how Japan manages trade in rice. These industries are backed by significant voting blocs in their respective countries. And they represent just the tip of the iceberg in terms of how the TPP would advance an agenda that actually runs counter to free trade … //

… (full text).

(About Joseph Stiglitz and Adam S. Hersh (not named in wikipedia, but in Nutritional anthropology):

  • Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University, was Chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers and served as Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank.
  • Adam S. Hersh is Senior Economist at the Roosevelt Institute and Visiting Scholar at Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue).

Related Links:

Other Links:

African Illegal thought he would get a house and a car within a few months, 3.24 min, uploaded by InHocSignoVinces, Oct 10, 2015; (my comment: decades ago a young man out of a small village in Morocco told me he was not listened by his family when telling them how hard working life in Europe may be, and what patience it takes for european poors to build up some small comfort. The family believed him egoist, not wanting share his new life with them. I guess we are not aware of what TV pictures puts in their heads, and nobody tells them the truth – which in any way they would not believe.
Conclusion: any refuge or immigration welcome must imperatively include a realistic presentation of what they may honestly achieve) – Heidi).

The first ancient African genome reveals complex human migrations, on The Washington Post, by Rachel Feltman, Oct 9, 2015: Africa is considered to be the birthplace of humankind — the cradle of humanity. But because its climate is poorly suited for DNA preservation, all of the ancient genomes to be analyzed have been from Europe, Asia, and the Americas. That changed on Thursday, when researchers published a paper in Science documenting the genetic code of a man who died 4,500 years ago in what’s now Ethiopia …;

The Affirmative Way, on Imaginary Visions of True Peace, by a Benedictine Monk, October 7, 2015 (a bit about me);

After New Labour: The Corbyn Surge And The Future Of Social Democracy In Britain, on Social Europe, by Andrew Gamblr, Oct 6, 2015: all wings of the Labour party after Corbyn are forced to imagine themselves anew. Any viable social democratic politics for the future will have find a way to bring principles and power back together …;

Assad News: Bashar al-Assad im Interview über Flüchtlinge und Terror, on lupo cattivo – gegen die Weltherrschaft, Sept 28, 2015: … Syrien steht aufgrund des Bürgerkrieges und aufgrund der Tatsache, dass die mit Abstand meisten Flüchtlinge, die derzeit nach Europa kommen, aus Syrien stammen, in den Schlagzeilen. Heute werden wir dazu Syriens Präsident Bashar al-Assad selbst zu Wort kommen lassen, so dass Sie sich zu diesem Thema eine eigene Meinung bilden können.

Download Report for free: Social inclusion of young people, on Eurofound.europa.eu’s download page, by Mascherini, MassimilianoLudwinek, AnnaLedermaier, Stefanie, published on 23 Sept 2015, 146 pages, ISBN 978-92-897-1402-0;

Download Report for free: Mapping youth transitions in Europe, on Eurofound.europa.eu’s download page, by Mascherini, MassimilianoLudwinek, AnnaVacas, CarlosMeierkord, AnjaGebel, Michael, published on 23 July 2014, 112 p, ISBN: 978-92-897-1141-8.

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