Details of Controversial Pacific Trade Deal Are Finally Released to Public The Associated Press
go to original November 5, 2015

Details of a sweeping Pacific Rim trade deal released Thursday set the stage for a raucous debate in the U.S. Congress but also may provide reassurances to those who worried the agreement could gut protections for the environment, public health and labor.

The text of the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement between the U.S. and 11 other countries including Japan and Mexico runs to 30 chapters and hundreds of pages. It is mind-boggling in its detail, laying out plans for the handling of trade in everything from zinc dust to railway sleepers and live eels.

Governments of the 12 member countries released the complete text online Thursday, making public the specifics of an agreement that critics complain was forged in secrecy.

The documents show the pact reached Oct. 5 in Atlanta after several years of talks is chock full of good intentions. Negotiators agreed to promote environmental sustainability, respect the rights and needs of indigenous peoples, and temper protections for drug patents with safeguards for public health and access to medicines.

Read the rest at Associated Press

Related: TPP Stops Short of Regulating Global Roaming Rates (ZDNet)

Related: Job Creator or Job Killer? A Look at the Pacific Trade Deal (Associated Press)

Related: Businesses Able to Sue Governments if TPP Climate Rules Inhibit Profits (Sputnik)

Related: Trans-Pacific Partnership Critics Concerned About Environment, IP Clauses in Trade Pact's Fine Print (ABC.net)

Related: Release of Pacific Trade Agreement Sets Stage for Huge Battle Before Congress Vote (The Los Angeles Times)

Photo: AFP/Saul Loeb

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