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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOpinion: TPP Is A Mistake
Some interesting info in here that I haven't seen:
The proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal is a mistake.
For starters the conventional view that TTIP (Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) is about Europe, whereas TPP is about Asia is wrong.
TTIP is indeed a proposed agreement between two parties, the US and the EU. It does not include other Atlantic nations such as Canada and Mexico, which are both members, with the US, of the North Atlantic Free Trade (NAFTA). Nor does it include non-EU member European states such as Iceland, Norway, Switzerland or Turkey. By currently common consent, TTIP negotiations appear to have got bogged down in bureaucratic technicalities and would seem to be going nowhere. There are hopes however that TPP might be concluded if President Obama can secure Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) from Congress.
Yet TPP is a really strange mélange of 12 members (see map below), including five from the Americas (Canada, Chile, Mexico, Peru and the US), five from Asia (Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam), along with Australia and New Zealand. In terms of populations the total American contingent which stands at 535 million, more than half the total population of the Americas (947 million), is significantly larger than the Asian population figures which amount to no more than 256.6 million (285 if you add Australia and New Zealand), compared to Asia’s total population of 4.3 billion: almost half of the Asian contingent is accounted for by one member, Japan. Missing are large Asian economies, notably South Korea, India and Indonesia, all three members of the G20.
Also missing of course is China; but that would seem to be deliberate, the economic arsenal of Washington’s (supposedly) strategic pivot to Asia, the fundamental aim of which is to contain China. Thus TPP is above all a geopolitical ploy with trade as a decoy.
Supporters and defenders of TPP argue that the reason China is excluded is not geopolitical but that TPP aims to achieve a very high standard trade agreement. Hence, they say, other Asian nations, including China, can apply and qualify for membership once they commit to meeting these high standards. Whether some of the current members, Vietnam, for example, are in a position to meet the high standards is for now an unresolved question. Though there is opposition to TPP in all member states, including in the two heavy-weight industrialized countries, Japan and US, a key question for developing countries, leaving aside the geopolitics, is whether TPP is what they need at this particular stage of their development.
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/jplehmann/2015/04/09/tpp-is-a-mistake/
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djean111
(14,255 posts)Thus TPP is above all a geopolitical ploy with trade as a decoy.
Actually, looks to me like the corporate version of a geopolitical ploy.
But yeah, the defense is mostly "Don't you guys care about the poor foreign workers?" and "CHINA!!!!!".
I am fascinated by how many other countries - TPP or whatever signatories - have eagerly jumped on board the new China bank. I will assume that the Chinese bank, in time, may be just as rapacious and austerity-loving as the IMF and World Bank.
SidDithers
(44,228 posts)It's an opinion piece written by a blogger who blogs at the Forbes "sites" server.
Anytime you see a Forbes address with "sites" in it followed by a name, then it's a blog entry and not an edited and vetted piece from Forbes.
Literally anyone can blog at Forbes sites.
Sid
cali
(114,904 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)From what I can see, the only objections are to which nations are part of the treaty and that it might benefit America more than these other countries. Hard to see that as a rallying cry against it.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)More exploitation of resources for profit, to the detriment of working-class people, all over the world. Human economics needs to be reformed. You may not realize it, But the last thing we need at this point in our history, is further entrenchment of the wasteful, exploitative and unjust capitalist/consumerist economic model. It is high-time we got our affairs in order, with the hope of mitigating a clearly impending climate disaster.
randome
(34,845 posts)But the net effect of the TPP will be -admittedly hopefully- to raise the standards of those other countries as they learn to compete with American firms.
There are advantages as well as disadvantages is all I'm saying. And yes, climate change is a much more pressing matter but try selling that to our current Congress.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)The geopolitical aspect is troubling, as well, because we are, essentially, setting the stage for future conflict over resources.
And just because we have a bunch of greedy idiots in Congress, doesn't mean I should stop advocating for a more logical and just political/economic system.
randome
(34,845 posts)Maybe, if we're 'lucky', climate change will get us to cooperate more, sort of like an alien invasion would theoretically unite us.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]No squirrels were harmed in the making of this post. Yet.[/center][/font][hr]
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)to exploit resources and labor for the sake of profit, to the detriment of the environment and working-class people, is NOT trying to change the system. It is actually just further entrenchment of the political status quo, as well as our foolish, wasteful economic system.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)Except the US does not provide a "floor" to our standards. In fact, the parts of the TPP that have leaked would weaken regulations that provide what little floor there is in the US.
As a result, raising those countries up will drag our country down. Much like NAFTA sent a lot of factory jobs to Mexico.
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)is to force wages in the US down. The sole purpose of a corporation, is to generate profits for rich people. Never in all of human history, have society's elites been motivated to create a better world for the working-class.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)To its great credit, the U.S. has for decades led the effort to build an orderly system of international trade. The traditional multilateral approach, proceeding by consensus, worked well for years. Sadly, it has all but come to a stop.
Granted, the U.S. is already a relatively open economy, so its direct gains (and the disruption that comes with them) wouldn’t be dramatic. Making assumptions about how the deal could turn out, one study puts the net benefit at about $80 billion a year. Still, that's $80 billion a year better than nothing, and the gain would rise to more than $250 billion a year if the agreement eventually took in China and others. And these figures don't capture the (potentially much larger) intangible benefits of further global integration, including faster productivity growth and innovation -- to say nothing of the geopolitical benefits of deeper economic ties.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-03-22/give-obama-the-authority-he-needs
Orsino
(37,428 posts)
CK_John
(10,005 posts)TPP is sort of hostage negotiation. The 5 billion people are saying if you want us to buy your stuff, quit whining.
Quit bugging us about our lack of environment laws, out lack of human rights laws, our lack of any copy right laws, our lack of royalty payments.
You need our stuff but we no longer need your stuff. Have a nice day.
appalachiablue
(41,182 posts)
