What Is TPP? Could The Trans-Pacific Partnership Intensify Income Inequality And Make Governments Subservient To Corporations?

What is TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership? TPP would be the biggest trade agreement in United States history. It dwarfs NAFTA and KAFTA, and it also supersedes them. In effect, it modifies those deals while creating even more trade agreements with even more countries. Twelve nations are now eligible to join. It is as of yet unknown how many will eventually become members.

Potential TPP or Trans-Pacific members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. These nations all vary significantly in their economies and currency values. It is also not explained why China is not being included in the partnership, or if they might be included later. The 12 nations currently invited to participate account for 40 percent of the total world trade, according to RT.

TPP or Trans-pacific Partnership acceptance is being debated in many nations, and in some cases, amid massive public protests. Australia has reservations about the partnership, according to RT. Their membership has been signed, but their parliament has yet to either agree or decline. Australia is in the same position as the United States in this way. President Obama also awaits approval for his Trans-Pacific agreement from a skeptical congress. Australia’s Productivity Commission cites Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms and the weakening of their copyright and intellectual property laws as their chief Trans-Pacific concerns.

“[Australia] should seek to avoid the inclusion of Investors-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions in bilateral and regional trade agreements that grant foreign investors in Australia substantive or procedural rights greater than those enjoyed by Australian investors.

TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership could be seen as a threat to national sovereignty due to its Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanisms. The partnership would give international corporations the right to sue governments for passing laws that hinder their profits, according to RT. Public Citizen explains that these disputes would be settled in tribunals before the World Bank and the United Nations. Both conservative and liberal elements within American Government have issues with this extra-judicial tribunal policy and the involvement of World Banks and the UN.

The TPP government website denies these negative partnership possibilities, saying that the United States is already involved in 51 different international agreements that allow for Investor-State Dispute Settlements.

“Although we are party to 51 agreements with ISDS — the U.S. has never lost an ISDS case. Our trade agreements ensure the same kinds of protections to U.S. businesses and investors operating abroad, where they face a heightened risk of discrimination and bias.”

TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership is intended to bring the world closer to the controversial goal of Globalization. In that way, it is very similar to the European Union, except that it deals almost exclusively with trade, and it involves the Pacific Rim nations, not Europe. While quite obviously it is inevitable that some form of global relations, global trade, and global communications are inevitable, considering the advent of faster travel and increases in communications technology, it is yet to be determined how exactly Globalization will occur, to what degree, and who precisely will benefit most from it. That is the essence of the TPP debate.

TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership is said to be slanted toward the benefit of international corporations. To many Americans, the phrase, “international corporations,” is understood as those job exporters and cheap foreign goods importers, and that is the major concern of politicians who represent the American people. International corporations are already exporting jobs to nations with the lowest wage requirements. They buy raw materials in Africa, build factories in nations with depressed economies, and sell the goods in inflated economies like Canada, the United States, Australia, and Europe. International corporations benefit from free and easy trade agreements like Trans-Pacific, but what will this do for average citizens all over the world?

Under TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership, international corporations will receive both added regulations and economic benefits from the TPP. Some consider TPP as a way to hold international corporations accountable, but skeptics do not feel this will be the case in practice. They believe that TPP will weaken national sovereignty for all nations, give more power to the world banks, and remove jobs from nations with inflated currencies like the United States. Meanwhile, exploited third world workers who will continue to work for low wages in unsafe and unsanitary conditions that pollute the air and water.

TPP or Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade agreements are very controversial. Many blame trade agreements for the flagging economy and lost jobs. Others say free trade exposes various populations to unsafe food supplies that may be produced under unsanitary and unregulated conditions. Many worry about intellectual property rights, as well as the value of their labor. In America, though, Accelerated job exportation is a major concern.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement can be read on the U.S. Trade Representative website.

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