Sanders Demands TPP Answers Following Maneuver to Delay Trade Markup
The passage of Trade Promotion Authority, and the “non-binding” negotiating objectives it outlines, will have a “meaningless” impact on proposals in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, in light of the expected completion of TPP talks in the near future, said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in an April 22 letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman (here). Sanders invoked a rarely-used Senate rule on the same day to interrupt and postpone the Finance Committee’s markup of four trade bills, including TPA (see 1504220020). The committee resumed the markup later in the day, and ultimately passed all four bills. Sanders asked Froman for “timely” responses to the following questions:
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- If the TPP goes into effect, do you have an estimate as to how many jobs in this country will be lost as American corporations move to Vietnam and Malaysia where they can pay workers less than $1 an hour?
- After the TPP goes into effect, could a Federal, state or local government be forced to pay compensation to a foreign company if an international tribunal rules that this company was prevented from earning an expected future profit due to environmental, labor or consumer laws or regulations?
- It is my understanding that under the TPP the U.S. government could not choose to buy American products over Vietnamese or Malaysian products that are made without meeting prevailing wage requirements. Is this true, and if so, how many Americans will lose their jobs as a result?
- As you know, seafood imports are a common source of pathogens. Have any studies been done to determine what kind of health hazards the American people will be exposed to by the importation of these products if the TPP is implemented?
- How many people will lose access to life-saving drugs for cancer and HIV if the TPP goes into effect?