Thank you.
My name is John Culjak. I'm a writer and I represent myself.
In search of a more equitable trade pact, we must ethically reject the TPP. Part of the TPP debate is whether or not jobs will be lost to countries that can manufacture products at a lower cost. We know from past trade pacts that jobs can and will be lost.
Another concern is often less about trade and more about giant multinational corporations finding new ways to rig the economic system to benefit themselves.
The TPP will give multinational corporations the right to sue the governments that will not comply with their wishes to earn more money. It will allow the corporations to sue for potential loss of money due to policy or laws passed by the government. For example, the TransCanada Corporation is currently suing the U.S. government for $15 billion—yes, $15 billion—in damages under NAFTA, another trade agreement, for rejecting the Keystone pipeline.
These same changes are applied to the TPP and will bring about the suing of our government by multinational corporations. By the way, guess who is going to pay for that? We are. The people are going to pay for that—the 99%.
Signing and passing the TPP will go even further, creating a situation whereby our laws ultimately will be determined by multinational corporations under the threat of lawsuits. According to Lori Wallach, the director of the Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, passing the TPP will give corporations the right to sue the government via a tribunal in which corporate attorneys decide if the corporation or the government will prevail.
In conclusion, that's only the tip of the iceberg. Passing the TPP will have a detrimental effect not only on jobs and the economy but also on our health system and the environment. Let's not give the 1%, the huge corporations, the right to dictate to our government what our laws should be in order that they may profit at the expense of the remaining 99%. The government must stand up up to the corporations, protect its people, and do the ethical thing. I implore you to stop the TPP.