Ahead of their meeting, demand that APEC leaders and IPEF negotiators listen to the people instead of corporations.
photo: Citizens Trade Campaign
As I type this, there is a rally and march happening in Downtown San Francisco for a new Fair Trade agenda.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations begin this week in San Francisco. Trade ministers from all over the world will be in San Francisco for the TPP trade negotiations, which marks the defining moment on U.S. trade policy for the Obama Administration. These meetings are said to offer a long-overdue opportunity to address trade failures of the past, and lay out a new framework for the future.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations are outlining a possible multi-lateral trade agreement with the U.S. and seven other countries from around the Pacific Rim, including countries with atrocious records on human rights and environmental protections, such as Brunei and Vietnam. The choice is stark: a new kind of trade agreement that lifts standards around the world or the expansion of NAFTA-style agreements to Asia and beyond.
If the TPP is successfully negotiated, we will have an established Obama trade policy for years to come, for ill or for good. The elections of President Obama promised to be a crossroads for U.S. trade policy. Nevertheless, after campaigning as a trade reformer, initial moves by the administration suggest continuity with Bush-Clinton-Bush-era free trade policies.
The morning rally and march of June 14th is a gathering fair trade allies, such as speakers Art Pulaski of California Labor Federation and Carl Pope of Sierra Club. The TPP talks are a perfect time to let trade negotiators know that there needs to be a fair deal or no deal at all.
In the evening of June 14th, Global Exchange and the California Fair Trade Coalition are hosting a special forum where experts from across civil society will explore the threats and opportunities posed by the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations.
7PM-9PM
SEIU Local 87, 240 Golden Gate Avenue (Golden Gate @ Leavenworth), San Francisco
What the TPP is and what it means for the future of the U.S. trade policy
Speakers:
Kevin Danaher, Global Exchane, moderator
Lori Wallach, Public Citizen-Global Trade Watch
Victor Menotti, International Forum on Globalization
Zeke Grader, Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations
Bill Hing, University of San Francisco School of Law
Ellen Shaffer, Center for Policy analysis on Trade and Health
Amy Kapcynski, UC Berkeley School of Law
Alberto Saldamando, International Indian Treaties Council (invited)
Anuradha Mittal, Oakland Insitutute (invited)
Tim Robertson, California Fair Trade Coalition
Sliding scale of $10-$25 No one turned away for lack of funds
For more information, please call the CFTC at 415-255-7291 or e-mail tim@citizentrade.org