Showing posts with label tpp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tpp. Show all posts

Saturday, 13 June 2015

‘A trillion dollar secret that will affect the whole world’: WikiLeaks offers $100,000 reward for missing TPP chapters

‘A trillion dollar secret that will affect the whole world’: WikiLeaks offers $100,000 reward for missing TPP chapters

It’s been called ‘the dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of.’
It’s been called ‘the dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of.’ Source: Supplied
AUSTRALIA’S biggest and most secretive trade agreement now has a price on its head.
WikiLeaks, the online mavericks dedicated to spilling state secrets, is offering $100,000 for all 29 sections of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, which have been kept from the public.
It says it already has three chapters but wants the lot.
Wikileaks has branded them “America’s Most Wanted Secrets” in a move which could affect Australia’s participation in the pact involving 12 nations that produce 40 per cent of the world’s economic output.




It has been dubbed “the dirtiest deal you’ve never heard of” and is being negotiated out of public view. Australia’s Trade Minister Andrew Robb has insisted there is nothing sinister about this and that the final document will boost Australia’s income, saying: “Why would I set out to make Australians materially worse off?”
WikiLeaks offers $100K reward for biggest ever secret
But his Liberal colleague Senator Bill Heffernan has disagreed.
“Politicians and governments need to have enough self-confidence to be able to have a contest of ideas, rather than doing something in secret and dropping it on the table,” Senator Heffernan has said.
This parallels concerns among Democrats and Republicans in the United States, where the Obama administration is being pressured to reveal all details before the agreement is ratified.
“It is enforceable corporate global governance,” said one US critic, referring to claims the TPP would give multinationals the power to reject legislated laws.
This is the Investor State Disputes Settlement (ISDS) body expected to have the power to arbitrate complaints by transnational companies against governments.
Andrew Robb argues the ISDS would protect Australia’s interests.
“We have got ISDS agreements with 28 countries that have extended back over 30 years,” he said recently.
“Now the sun I notice still comes up every morning despite this being the case, and yet if you read a lot of what some of these people are saying today, you’d think the world’s going to stop if we have an ISDS clause.”
WikiLeaks isn’t convinced and made this plea overnight:
“It is a one-way ticket. Once signed it will be locked in place forever,” says a spokesman in the video.
“But the scariest thing about the TPP is that there are 26 chapters that cover our daily lives that we have not seen.
“So let’s raise $100,000 as a reward for the missing chapters on the TPP and help uncover a trillion dollar secret that will affect the whole world. Make your pledge today.”

Ag Minister seeks best deal for farmers as Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations continue

Ag Minister seeks best deal for farmers as Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations continue

Posted Fri at 10:22am
The Federal Agriculture Minister, Barnaby Joyce, says he will only agree to a new free trade deal with the United States if it benefits the Australian agricultural industry.
The Trans Pacific Partnership, a major free trade deal between twelve pacific rim countries, is in the final stages of negotiations.
Recent leaks of the negotiations indicate America is unwilling to consider cuts to tariffs and import quotas on Australian beef and sugar products.
Barnaby Joyce said Australia will not settle on a deal unless demands for better market access are met.
"I've been in discussions with the Americans and we will not be just signing any deal, it has to be a deal that works for us," he said.
"It's not the case that the Americans get any deal they want and we just have to accept it.
"If there's nothing in it for us, then we don't need to sign it, if we believe we can get ahead further by not being part of it then that is precisely what we'll do."
Minister Joyce said the deal needs to be better than the current agreement.
"One of the key things for the United States of America is what they do with the sugar and beef," he said.
"I've made that clear to them and they've made certain requirements clear to me, this is how negotiations work.
"If we get nowhere on some of the key issues that are important to us and if the status quo position is better than our negotiated position then we'll stick with the status quo."