The Trans Pacific Trade Deal Stumbled. Now Is the Time to Walk Away
After more than five years of negotiations, trade ministers meeting last week failed again to reach an agreement
on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a secret trade agreement
between 12 countries in the Pacific that make up 40% of the global
economy.
This is a major opportunity for governments to now walk away entirely
from this trojan horse deal that is bad for people and for the planet.
The latest round of failed talks, which took place in Hawaii, was
anticipated to 'seal the deal' with government officials stating that
"it was 98 per cent complete." Yet the TPP trade agreement has stalled
again because of a range of important disagreements over pharmaceutical
patents, market access for agricultural products and the corporate
rights to sue governments for public policy.
The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key admitted that the TPP would increase the price of medicine.
For many countries this means a choice between life and death for their
citizens, and negotiators refused to budge on the issue.
Growing public pressure has put the agreement into the spotlight. It
is harder for ministers to agree to something disastrous for their
country on a beach in Hawaii when they know people back home are
watching.
Hundreds
of protestors blowing conch shells line Kaanapali Beach in Lahaina,
Hawaii, Wednesday, July 29, 2015, to protest the Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade agreement. (Photo: AP/Audrey McAvoy)
of protestors blowing conch shells line Kaanapali Beach in Lahaina,
Hawaii, Wednesday, July 29, 2015, to protest the Trans-Pacific
Partnership trade agreement. (Photo: AP/Audrey McAvoy)
