HuffPo | The Obama administration appears to have almost no international
support for controversial new trade standards that would grant radical
new political powers to corporations, increase the cost of prescription
medications and restrict bank regulation, according to two internal
memos obtained by The Huffington Post.
The memos, which come from a government involved in the 12-nation
Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, detail continued
disputes in the talks over the deal. The documents reveal broad
disagreement over a host of key positions, and general skepticism that
an agreement can be reached by year-end. The Obama administration has
urged countries to reach a deal by New Year's Day, though there is no
technical deadline.
One memo, which was heavily redacted before being provided to
HuffPost, was written ahead of a new round of talks in Singapore this
week. Read the full text of what HuffPost received here.
(Note: Ellipses indicate redacted text. Text in brackets has been added
by a third party.) Another document, a chart outlining different
country positions on the text, dates from early November, before the
round of negotiations in Salt Lake City, Utah. View the chart here. HuffPost was unable to determine which of the 11 non-U.S. nations involved in the talks was responsible for the memo.
"These are not U.S. documents and we have no idea of their authorship
or authenticity," a spokesman for the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative said. "Some elements in them are outdated, others totally
inaccurate." The spokesman declined to specify which parts were
outdated or inaccurate.
The Obama administration has been leading negotiations on the
international trade accord since 2010. The countries involved in the
talks include Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
One of the most controversial provisions in the talks includes new
corporate empowerment language insisted upon by the U.S. government,
which would allow foreign companies to challenge laws or regulations in a
privately run international court. Under World Trade Organization
treaties, this political power to contest government law is reserved for
sovereign nations. The U.S. has endorsed some corporate political
powers in prior trade agreements, including the North American Free
Trade Agreement, but the scope of what laws can be challenged appears to
be much broader in TPP negotiations. Fist tap Dale.
