TPP Study Materials

Trans-Pacific Partnership Information

Full Text of the TPP available at ustr.gov/tpp

Why the TPP is a Threat to Federalism and National, State and Local Self Determination

by Ken Bonetti

Boulder, CO Indian Peaks Group, Sierra Club,

Boulder County CO January 1, 2016

After more than six years of secret negotiations the final text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been released to the public. A multilateral diplomatic vetting process is now underway. The agreement is also headed for a Congressional vote, though no one is certain when that will occur. Despite deep secrecy surrounding the talks, much was already known about the TPP from leaked drafts. Important elements of the agreement raised early concerns among those cognizant of the impacts of earlier comparable trade and investment agreements. Release of the final text has only heightened those concerns. Essential components have changed little, while a number of safeguards under consideration in earlier drafts, intended to provide some protection for labor, public welfare and the environment, were eliminated in the final rush to seal the agreement. We now can fully appreciate the TPP’s implications for state and local governance, political and economic sovereignty, and Americans’ quality of life.

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Resources from Public Citizen

Link to Public Citizen Website

Link to Public Citizen Page on TPP

Papers by Public Citizen (November 2015)

A Dirty Deal

How the Trans-Pacific Partnership Threatens our Climate

After more than five years of closed-door negotiations, the governments of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries have finally released the text of the controversial pact. The TPP is a broad trade, investment, and regulatory agreement between the United States and 11 Pacific Rim countries. In its more than 6,000 pages of binding rules, the deal fails to even mention the words “climate change”—a clear sign it is not “a 21st-century trade agreement,” as some have claimed.

Beyond making no effort to combat climate disruption, the TPP would actually fuel the climate crisis. If approved, the pact would increase greenhouse gas emissions and undermine efforts to transition to clean energy. The TPP’s biggest threats to our climate are as follows:

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