Blog
June 8, 2015
There have been a number of claims recently about how the Hatch-Wyden-Ryan TPA bill would put Congress in the “driver’s seat” and how the Administration would have to follow Congress’s lead should it become law. They're wrong.
June 1, 2015
It has been over 12 years since the last debate over Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – the last time we considered the role of Congress in trade negotiations. Much has changed since then. The world has changed, trade negotiations have changed, and the role of Congress in trade negotiations has changed.
May 28, 2015
In 2007, House Democrats insisted on changes to four pending trade agreements with Peru, Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Those changes, among other things, created the most progressive medicines provisions in U.S. trade agreements. Unfortunately, TPP is currently failing to live up to that standard.
May 22, 2015
There's been a lot of rhetoric thrown around about the Trade Adjustment Assistance program. We wanted to set the record straight by introducing some reality into the mix.
April 13, 2015
We know the impact currency manipulation has had on the U.S. economy. Currency manipulation has cost U.S. workers between one million and five million jobs – and is responsible for as much as half of excess unemployment in the United States. It has contributed to stagnant wages for the middle class and to inequality in the United States. Even opponents of addressing currency manipulation in TPP recognize that currency manipulation is a “legitimate problem.”
March 31, 2015
The TPP negotiations provide a critical opportunity to raise environmental standards among countries that account for nearly 40% of the world economy. But if not done effectively, TPP risks locking in weak environmental standards that will be even more difficult to strengthen in the future. With the environmental provisions still unresolved in TPP, it is vital that the United States push for strong commitments and full enforceability.
March 27, 2015
Last week, an investment tribunal established under the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) issued an award in Bilcon v. Canada. The tribunal ruled in favor of a U.S. investor who had challenged the Canadian government’s decision to deny an environmental permit to establish a rock quarry in Nova Scotia.
March 23, 2015
TPP represents an opportunity to improve worker rights in countries like Vietnam, Mexico, Malaysia and Brunei but only if the Agreement includes the right obligations, ensures full implementation, and strong enforcement.
March 20, 2015
Investment chapters in U.S. free trade agreements (FTAs), in particular the dispute settlement mechanism known as “investor-state dispute settlement” (ISDS), have received heightened scrutiny from a broad-range of interested parties. While investment provisions have a long history and respond to unfair actions against investors, the changing scope and nature of globalization require a careful re-examination of ISDS provisions.