Fast Track: The Next Big Fight

The TPP is currently being negotiated in secret, using a process designed from the start to end up with a corporate-favoring agreement. We know from leaks — and from the results of other “NAFTA-style” agreements — that the agreement elevates corporations above the laws of sovereign countries. TPP will prioritize the profits of giant, multinational corporations over the rule of law. For example, TPP will allow tobacco companies to sue governments for implementing anti-smoking initiatives — and those suits will be heard in corporate courts, with corporate lawyers acting as the judges.

After the budget, Congress’ will push to pass “fast track” legislation, to grease the skids for the TPP. Fast track trade promotion authority rigs the legislative process, essentially pre-approving “trade” deals like TPP before they are even finalized — before members of Congress even know what is in the treaties.

Fast track is an extremely unusual legislative process that only applies to trade deals. With fast track, Congress agrees to set aside its constitutional duty to carefully review (and fix) trade deals. Among other things, Congress agrees not to amend the agreement, not to filibuster it and gives itself only 90 days after first seeing the agreement to approve the agreement. The argument for doing this is that it keeps Congress from “meddling” with the secretly negotiated agreement — a process otherwise known as “democracy” and “transparency.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…/how-citibank-budget-push_b_…