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US Democrats stall passage of Trans Pacific Partnership

Democrats turn back on Obama over secret trade negotiations, ABC Radio AMBen Knight reported this story on Saturday, June 13, 2015  ELIZABETH JACKSON: The Australian Government’s hopes of joining a massive Pacific free trade agreement have been dampened today, after the US Congress voted to slow down the negotiations.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is being negotiated between the US, Japan, Australia and nine other Pacific countries.But the discussions are secret and opponents of the deal are deeply worried about what the leaders of those countries are giving away – including members of Barack Obama’s own party.

Our Washington correspondent is Ben Knight.

Ben, what exactly was this vote?

BEN KNIGHT: Well, it’s pretty complicated. And, you know, it’s very easy to get sort of down into the weeds of congressional machinations and, in fact, Barack Obama’s spokesman, Josh Earnest, called this a “procedural SNAFU” – a word he’s become pretty fond of.

But look, essentially what has happened is: the Congress had the first votes on giving the president the authority he wants to be able to negotiate this Trans-Pacific Partnership in secret, by himself.

Now, this is a luxury that other leaders in TPP countries – the 11 other TPP countries – have. Australian Government is negotiating this and it’s not giving out any of the details – and, of course, this is one of the great big concerns for opponents: is that we don’t know what’s being negotiated.

Now, president Barack Obama was saying, “Look, I want to negotiate this deal. I want the luxury, I want the ability to be able to do this in secret.”

And then, when all the countries have come up with a final text, with a final draft of what will be, probably, one of the biggest free trade agreements in history, then he will present it to the American public and to the Congress. And then they will vote on it: yes or no.

The alternative to that is that people in the Congress want to be able to see the details. They want to know what’s going on. They want to vote on each particular part of it as it’s being discussed and as it’s being decided. And as the president says: “I can’t do it that way.”…….http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4254374.htm

June 15, 2015 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, USA