Sen. Sanders Pushes Froman to Release Entire TPP Text
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative continues to obstruct members of Congress, along with their staffers and other consultants, from fully accessing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiating texts, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in a Jan. 5 letter to USTR Michael Froman. Sanders asked for a copy of the “full composite bracketed text, without redactions,” and also requested USTR grant experts of his “choosing” to analyze the material.
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A possible Trade Promotion Authority vote in the Senate “very early this year” is ramping up urgency to view the text, said Sanders. If USTR will not submit the texts by Jan. 16, Sanders asked for a statutory reasoning. Many members of Congress and activist groups routinely lambaste USTR for concealing the text from Congress and the public, while allowing industry input to fundamentally shape the agreement.
“Please also explain why you think it is appropriate that the representatives of the largest financial institutions, pharmaceutical companies, oil companies, media conglomerates, and other major corporate interests not only have access to some of these documents, but are also playing a major role in developing many of the key provisions in it,” said the letter. “Meanwhile, the people who will suffer the consequences of this treaty have been shut out of this process. In my view, this is simply unacceptable.” If the text is not released, Sanders pledged to work with his colleagues in the Senate to pass legislation that forces USTR to unveil the text.