Trumka Again Rips Into TPA and TPP, Calls for Complete Transparency in Negotiations
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka again slammed Trade Promotion Authority, referred to as fast-track by critics, in an April 2 op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, saying rejection of the legislation would give Congress and the American people a “fighting chance” to…
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discard harmful provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Complete transparency in the negotiating process, including disclosure of TPP text, would allow Congress to strengthen labor and environmental rules, remove the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism and put in currency manipulation provisions, said Trumka in the op-ed (here). “Every single line in our trade deals should be openly discussed and subject to public oversight and the full legislative process,” said Trumka, while repeating an argument that U.S. trade deals only serve corporate interests. “Fast-track is undemocratic, it's a rotten process, and the American labor movement intends to kill it.” The TPA template in place, based on legislation introduced last Congress (see 14011013), would prevent amendments and require an up-or-down vote in both chambers of Congress. The American labor movement has aggressively ramped up its opposition to the Obama administration's trade agenda (see 1503250072).