The time for TPPA weasel words is over

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Almost every day of the election campaign there has been a policy announcement that would potentially run foul of what I understand is currently in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA):  more constraints on foreign investment or investors … regulation of mining practices … stronger health and safety laws for mining and forestry that are backed by effective penalties … subsidise reopening of Hillside workshop … replace the ETS with a more effective climate change strategy … stop the big banks and insurers rorting their customers … make polluters pay … and many more.

I do understand that this was an election campaign. The fine print of New Zealand’s existing obligations in a free trade or investment treaty should be allowed to not get in the way of promoting a platform that voters will support, let alone an agreement we have not yet signed.

But after the election political parties will need to confront reality: if they are serious about carrying through with their policies, they cannot support the TPPA. When negotiating a post-election coalition deal New Zealand First, the Greens, Internet Mana, the Maori Party and Labour must make the rejection of the TPPA, or at the very least renegotiation of the current text, a non-negotiable bottom line. If Phil Goff can’t swallow that position, he should not be made Labour’s spokesperson for trade.

The time for weasel words about weighing up the costs and benefits has gone. The outrageous US practice of unilateral certification that I exposed in my last blog means they will effectively rewrite the deal if Congress and its corporates don’t like what the governments signed up to.

The US will simply refuse to certify compliance, and bring the deal into force in relation to New Zealand, unless we change our laws to meet their expectations of our obligations, even if that obligation is not in the text itself. Based on past practice, the US may demand to review proposed laws before they are introduced, offer to help draft them, send their officials to Wellington to oversee the process. Forget “finessing” the enabling legislation to make use of ambiguities in the final text of the agreement; forget creative interpretations of the text. It is the US’s interpretation that will rule them all.

Couldn’t happen for New Zealand? Just remember what Glenn Greenwald told us about the NSA and GCSB waiting for the passage of the GCSB bill last year, so they could proceed with ‘phase two’ of Project Speargun to access the undersea cable that carries New Zealand’s Internet traffic.

In other words, the TPPA will only reflect New Zealand’s national interest to the extent that it coincides with the national interest of the USA. Dealing with this reality is not something that Labour can defer in the hope it may never happen.

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The final push is on to conclude the TPPA by November. Rumours are firming up that each country’s top trade negotiators and ministers will meet in October, possibly in Sydney, and again later in the month or early November to deliver the outcome Obama wants when the leaders meet around the 13th of November.

If they can pull this off, they won’t be able to get a final text before mid-2015. But the political decisions would have been made and the officials ordered to convert them into legalese.

That outcome hinges on Japan and the US agreeing on agriculture, before mid-term elections in the US that are expected to increase the political power of the Republicans. There is a 50/50 chance they achieve that, which is why a national day of action has been called for 8 November across a number of TPPA countries.

 

18 COMMENTS

  1. How the hell can we stop this from proceeding, it would seem the govt are hellbent on signing it and I am not at all sure they will not sign sovereignty away in the pursuit of this

    • RAEGUN:

      Well I’m absolutely sure they WILL sign away our sovereignty given half a chance. The goons that currently run this country were a total walkover with respect to the GCSB/NSA “cop-out”.

      There’s no reason to think that they have learned anything at all from that particular stuff-up, if Key’s rhetoric is anything to go by.

      Remember how Key was hoping to have it all signed up by Christmas of LAST year?

      • It has been planned and executed, John Key is Americas boy down under, he was sent here to do a job, get NZ ready for privatisation, and changing laws so American businesses can scoop the pool. All profits going back to America, what will that do for the balance of payments.

        I often wonder what Keys rewards will be, maybe that’s why he can donate his parliamentary salary to charity.

    • ‘How the hell do we stop this from happening?’…

      ….is a profound question.

      Perhaps ask what are we doing? and

      What am I contributing to the project to stop TPP from happening?

      For a lot of people it is enough to get a handle on it. For some once they have done so they become active in opposition to it.

      Some see salvation in a Labour led parliamentary government, however we all know that Labour has signed us to similar provisions in the earlier China, Singapore and Malaysian FTAs.

      We also need to see TPP in the global context and appreciate our extremely complicit role in the UK/USA anglo alliance. The ‘moment of truth’ merely reinforced public knowledge.

      Our police, our military and most of the permanent government departments have intricate relations with their peers in the other nation’s governments.

      Some anti TPP activists have decided to lobby a different tier of government in Aotearoa-NZ – Local Government is impacted by many provisions of TPP.

      Local government has previously addressed concern to central government in relation to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) agenda. Local Government NZ (LGNZ) made proposals to government in February 2003 when the GAT trade and Services agreement was being negotiated, that protected local government’s ability to regulate.

      In many ways Local Government are allies in this struggle to retain the sovereign ability to determine the future policy settings for our kiwi state.

      Following the Auckland Council’s discussion and policy decision on TPP in Dec 2012 we decided to lobby local and regional councils to accept that Auckland 2012 TPP policy formula, as a standard that protects kiwi public interest. Prof. Jane Kelsey highlights this initiative in her TDB article from August;

      https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/08/21/who-said-kiwis-couldnt-get-a-fire-in-their-bellies-over-an-arcane-international-economic-agreement-that-could-deny-our-right-to-decide-our-own-future/

      And for more info. see ‘It’s our Future’ website and the links on this page;

      http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/local-government-kit/

      We can establish the TPP and FTA policy standard which protects our public interest. This has many benefits including growing the awareness of FTAs in civil society and amongst local government politicians and council staff.

      It also could be useful in encouraging folks to get active in their local governance generally. Oil Drilling and Fracking’s spread beyond Taranaki into the Manawatu and East Coast regions will be in large part determined by Regional and District Council’s regulatory framework including whether exploration and drilling is a notified or non notified activity.

      TPP will have implication for the spread of this industry think on ISDS and it’s implication for lost profits when people rise up over drilling and fracking in their backyard.

      What can I do to stop TPP?

  2. @ RAEGUN .
    But we are the government . And if we want to stop our political representitives from doing something that we believe is not in our best interests , then we need to tell our political representatives so . Perhaps we need to tell our political representatives so in a forthright manner , enthusiastically and repeatedly , until they either listen and do their jobs , or are in hiding .

    • Yep. That is precisely what needs to happen. Both we and the politicians have forgotten that they’re our servants and not our masters.

  3. There is so much to think about this election I’m afraid the TPPA may have gotten completely lost in the mix despite the significance to our sovereignty.

    Hopefully the Greens get a good chunk of vote because Labour don’t seem to care either way. It’s depressing.

  4. Jane, well said.

    “The US will simply refuse to certify compliance, and bring the deal into force in relation to New Zealand.

    Unless we change our laws to meet their expectations of our obligations, even if that obligation is not in the text itself.

    Based on past practice, the US may demand to review proposed laws before they are introduced, offer to help draft them, send their officials to Wellington to oversee the process.”

    No wonder Key and his club didn’t want us to discuss the loss of our own rights to self control of our own future.

    This is akin to an eventual one world Global Government taking control of smaller countries in a step by step process.

    This one world Government is a plan enshrined in the policy planning documents of the Bilderberg Group, a NAZI founded highly secretive organisation dedicated to assuming control of the globe.

    Jon Key has attended several meetings at Bilderberg so we are clearly heading to their direction it now seems if this Government survives this election.

    A economic war is being waged upon the weaker Countries firstly such as NZ. as they progress to a new “One world Government.”

    • Absolutely spot-on, CLEANGREEN.

      I’m becoming more and more convinced every day that some international super-rich lobby group is pulling the strings here. Their aim is to preserve their own selfish super-rich status and power at all costs, by promoting and advancing Globalisation and world-domination of commerce through the multinationals that they own. The Bilderberg Group is a likely contender.

  5. Stop the TPPA.
    Shut out the Bilderberg group from NZ and our politicians from playing with them!

    Vote Green or IMP. It’s the only way to stop it from happening!

  6. Trilateral Commission , Club of Rome , Bilderberg , Rothschild’s , Rhodes scholars , Masons , and of course the good old Illuminati….

    To name just a few.

    Set up the computer systems capacity’s , instigate a few more world financial crashes…

    VOILA !…cashless surveillance society.

    Last but not least….a silicon chip implanted under your skin so you can trade….just like they do to dogs now.

    What do you end up with ?

    The MARK of the BEAST.

    Pleasant dreams , everyone.

    • Trilateral Commission , Club of Rome , Bilderberg , Rothschild’s , Rhodes scholars , Masons , and of course the good old Illuminati….

      /facepalm

      Some of the names on that list contradict each other and some just don’t exist.

  7. If governments do not recognise and act upon the will of the people then they will be changed….by election or direct action…..Australia has had its Krystallnacht…..when will NZ have its version..anti terror legislation….becomes anti protest laws……what a con!

  8. Yeh this is pretty scary, the foundation blocks of the realities of so many futuristic science fiction movies I watched growing up are already here. I’m just thinking of movies like Terminator, Total Recall, Judge Dredd and there are probably tons of others. Mass surveillance of everyone is already underway and complete corporate control is getting closer.

  9. What complicates matters will be the principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty as it applies to New Zealand. This country inherited this principle from Westminster, and, among a few other countries, Israel applies the same notion. The United States does not.

    What this means is that no New Zealand Government may enact legislation or regulation that might not be amended or repealed by future Acts of Parliament. Now, if the Nats signed in on this deal, under this principle, foreign (or local) corporations would not under New Zealand law be in a position to sue the government for administering an Act passed by Parliament, whatever the effect upon that corporation.

    I doubt if the US would give a rat’s arse about this principle, as the US Congress is not sovereign. if anything is, it is the Constitution, though as there have been underhand amendments by judge rulings (e.g. corporation are persons according to the Constitution – but you won’t find an Constitutional Amendment to that effect) that sovereignty is far from absolute.

    If a New Zealand Government signs up to this, there are three things it will have to consider:
    1. Abolishing the Parliamentary Sovereignty principle. The constitutional and other ramifications of this will be enormous.
    AND/OR
    2. Safeguarding the interests and assets of it New Zealand individuals and businesses operating in the United States and other signatories to any deal with the US, not just the TPPA. This to ensure that if New Zealand does find it necessary to enact legislation that contends with the interests of overseas companies operating in this country, those businesses are protected from US retaliation (public or private).
    AND/OR
    3. Making it very clear to the US that the principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty in this country is non-negotiable, and what its implications are to foreign investors here. The US must be held to that. Never in this world, the US should be told, is New Zealand to be subject to stand-over tactics, embargoes, confiscation of assets etc etc in carrying outits legislative and executive functions. Legitimate lobbying I guess can’t be helped, but it should be New Zealand who decides the parameters of legitimate lobbying within its own borders.

    The US won’t buy any of this of course (except maybe the abolition of New Zealand’s Parliamentary Sovereignty).

    There was a time at which the US didn’t like to be seen to bully smaller countries (not that it stopped them on the quiet). But now the US doesn’t even pretend to be offering a fair deal. Quite why John Key and Bill English (supposing they have New Zealand’s interests at heart) want to buy into the TPPA (or why the Clark Administration wanted to buy into the similar MAI ten years back) passes my comprehension.

    I’m forced to one of two conclusions;
    1. This (and the previous) Government doesn’t know what it is looking at or its implications for New Zealand’s sovereignty, economy or its people;
    2. This Government knows these full well, and is ready to sell off New Zealand’s sovereignty, economy and people.

    From where I stand, it sure lord looks like the latter. I wonder what form their thirty pieces of silver will take?

  10. If they seriously don´t understand what they are agreeing to and it´s implications, they should be legally forced to stand down immediately for incompetency. Parliament is full of lawyers! It can only be option two. At least if it were option one there would be grounds to break the contract due to failure to fully disclose, by the U.S. Is John Key just plain evil, being bribed, being blackmailed or all three?

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