U.S. Lawmakers Urge Greater Transparency in TPP Negotiations in Letter to USTR’s Kirk
Saying there may be “needless secrecy and over-classification of documents” relating to the ongoing negotiations over a potential Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (TPP-FTA), more than 130 members of Congress wrote U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging him to “engage in broader and deeper consultations with members of the full range of committees of Congress whose jurisdiction touches on the wide-ranging issues involved.” The USTR should also ensure “there is ample opportunity for Congress to have input on critical policies that will have broad ramifications for years to come,” they said.
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The lawmakers said that since the U.S. will be obliged to bring existing and future U.S. policies into compliance with the norms established in the TPP -FTA, the negotiations USTR is pursuing would create binding policies on future Congresses in numerous areas. They could include those related to labor, patent and copyright, land use, food, agriculture and product standards, natural resources, the environment, professional licensing, state-owned enterprises and government procurement policies, as well as financial, healthcare, energy, telecommunications and other service sector regulations, they said.
Past U.S. trade negotiations conducted under the now-expired Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-210), also known as “Fast Track,” required various stages of congressional consultations before and during negotiations as a condition of Congress’ delegation of its exclusive constitutional authority “to regulate commerce with foreign nations.” Such consultations are essential because the TPP-FTA negotiations are of “unprecedented scope due to the number of countries and issues involved,” they said. Citing USTR statements, the lawmakers said the TPP membership could ultimately include half of the nations of the world. So the proposed TPP FTA “necessitates extreme care at the front end, which includes input” from members of Congress .
Seeking more transparency in the negotiations, the lawmakers said they are “troubled that there may be needless secrecy and over-classification of documents associated with the release of drafts of the pact’s various chapters, or even providing a summary of each of the Administration’s policies that they have proposed to other countries.” Citing press reports and a recent USTR letter, they said there are indications that the negotiating parties signed a confidentiality agreement in 2010 “imposing heightened secrecy for the process.” They urged Kirk to “provide us with a copy of the confidentiality agreement and an explanation as to what role USTR or other governments played in crafting it.” They also sought summaries of the proposals offered by the U.S. government, “so we have a clearer idea of what positions are being advanced on behalf of the U.S. citizenry. “