When you strip out the distractions, TPP comes down to essentially three things:My take. The real objective of trade agreements engineered by the US is to cement neoliberalism in place so that all countries that want to join the world economy as full partners in the future will be forced to adopt neoliberalism and basically become vassals of the empire.
- A free trade agreement with Japan. We need to see the details of that, including the FDI dimension, to understand if there will be GDP gains for the US or not. The impact on US inequality and median wages also remains at best unclear.
- Investor State Dispute Settlement. This is of very dubious value to residents of the United States, at least unless the administration agrees to introduce greater safeguards against abuse.
- Greater protection for pharmaceutical patents. This will almost certainly reduce access to affordable medicines, both in the US and in our trading partners.
It's a not so hidden agenda stated rather explicitly by President Obama when he said recently:
"If we don't write the rules for trade around the world, guess what? China will," Obama said, making his case at the Oregon headquarters of the athletic apparel and footwear company Nike. "And they'll write those rules in a way that gives Chinese workers and Chinese businesses the upper hand."So the trade agreement is about one-upping China while the US still has the power to do so? That is the way the president is selling this plan for neoliberal globalization under transnational (read US) corporate control.
The Baseline Scenario
What Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Really All About?
Simon Johnson | Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship and Professor of Global Economics and Management, MIT Sloan
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