For many liberal critics, the problem with the Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade deal isn’t simply the worry that it could lead to more
job loss by exposing American manufacturing to more import competition.
Rather, they assert
that the TPP is in many ways not even a trade agreement: Its real
offense is in the areas of intellectual property and global dispute
settlement, where the deal, they say, could further tilt the playing
field towards major corporations.
Specifically: Many on the left
have raised concerns about the Investor-State Dispute Settlement
mechanism, which would allow major corporations to litigate disputes
with local governments in a manner designed to create a stable legal
environment for investments in participating countries.
Now a
group of senior legal experts — including Obama’s old Harvard mentor,
Laurence Tribe, who has been representing the coal industry against
Obama’s EPA regulations — is weighing in on the controversial ISDS
provision, pronouncing it contrary to American legal traditions.
In a new letter to Congressional leaders, these legal experts lay out an expansive case against the ISDS on legal
grounds, as opposed to economic ones, claiming it would “undermine
democratic norms.” Alliance for Justice helped organize the letter.
