I've previously written that the president is a coward, hiding behind Nike and a whole host of other corporate sponsors in his pitch to pass the Trans Pacific Partnership. Probably the lowest he's gone is accusing people of "making stuff up", specifically when it comes to the view that, oh, pshaw, the TPP and so-called "free trade" deals will not undermine American regulations.
So, Mr. President, what dismissive comments can you conjure up now, in light of YESTERDAY'S undermining of an important food safety regulation because of the very secretive and corporate-friendly trade deals that TPP is a bad seed of? When Americans eat tainted meat, fall sick and die, what will you say?
Recall what the president said at his little corporate-fest at Nike:
Number four -- critics warn that parts of this deal would undermine American regulation -- food safety, worker safety, even financial regulations. They’re making this stuff up. (Applause.) This is just not true. No trade agreement is going to force us to change our laws. This agreement would make sure our companies aren’t discriminated against in other countries.
Because I strongly believe that the president is smart, it is a sad fact that you have to conclude, when you read the above remarks, that he is either poorly informed or lying.
Because this is just outright false.
And the World Trade Organization has just exposed that Nike-event claim that people are "making this stuff up" to be a lie. Yesterday, the WTO ruled that a U.S. law requiring that consumers know where pork and beef come from--where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered--violated trade rules. Congress must now weaken or eliminate that law, known as a country-of-origin labeling (COOL) law.
The WTO, to recap, is the global forum in which trade fights are adjudicated. But, don't be booking any tickets to take part in that process or, ha, give input: that's reserved only for a super-secret process, held behind-closed-doors to which access is granted to representatives of governments and corporations but not organizations like Global Trade Watch or other citizens groups.
Bad ruling? Tough luck. You're fucked.
As Global Trade Watch's Lori Wallach correctly says:
“Today’s WTO ruling, which effectively orders the U.S. government to stop providing consumers basic information about where their food comes from, offers a clear example of why so many Americans and members of Congress oppose the Fast Tracking of more so-called ‘trade’ pacts that threaten commonsense consumer safeguards,” said Wallach. “The corporations lobbying to Fast Track the TPP must be groaning right now, as this ruling against a popular consumer protection in the name of ‘free trade’ spotlights exactly why there is unprecedented opposition to more of these deals.”
As Global Trade Watch correctly points out, the
COOL requirements are supported by 9 out of 10 Americans.
What has made the president's claims that people were just "making this stuff up" even more ludicrous is that the COOL decision is not the first one that obliterates a regulation aimed at protecting people:
In response to previous WTO rulings, the United States has rolled back U.S. Clean Air Act regulations on gasoline cleanliness standards successfully challenged by Venezuela and Mexico; Endangered Species Act rules relating to shrimping techniques that kill sea turtles after a successful challenge by Malaysia and other nations; and altered auto fuel efficiency (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards that were successfully challenged by the European Union.
So, no, Mr. President, we're not making this stuff up. Come out and debate this, stop hiding behind Nike and other carefully orchestrated events.