The important but little known Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), “is misleadingly labeled as a trade agreement, making it seem like a relatively narrow and limited agreement involving traditional topics like tariffs and exchange of goods — the sort of government-to-government discussions that seem too esoteric to have much impact on the everyday citizen,” writes Slate.
As explained by the United States Trade Representative, TPP is an “ambitious, next-generation, Asia-Pacific trade agreement that reflects U.S. priorities and values.”
President Obama has touted TPP, saying it will “boost our economies, lowering barriers to trade and investment, increasing exports, and creating more jobs for our people, which is my No. 1 priority.”
Based on recently leaked information, Slate suggests that TPP would enact “significant changes in U.S. and/or other signatory countries’ laws.”
It would also “curb public access to vast amounts of information in the name of combating intellectual property infringement (or piracy, depending on your choice of words). The owner of the copyright in a song or movie could use a ‘technological protection measure’ — what are often called ‘digital locks’ — to prevent your access to it, even for educational purposes, and regardless of whether the owner had the legal right to do so.”
There are more than 20 chapters within TPP, spanning subjects like “customs, cross-border services, telecommunications, government procurement, competition policy, and cooperation and capacity building” and more.
According to Slate, this is the “same closed-door mentality that killed the Stop Online Piracy Act and has led to the near death of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It likely will kill TPP if its negotiations do not change course. At a minimum, it will lead to an imbalanced and poorly drafted law.”
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