Pat Choate: Those Trade Lies

On Friday, June 12th, 2015, the House of Representatives held an extensive debate on whether Congress should adopt fast track rules for ratifying the Trans Pacific Partnership.  Advocates of this secret trade deal made arguments that took them into a world of fantasy economics and delusional politics.  Some examples illustrate that point. [Reposted with the…

USW: Fast Track’s TPP Trojan Horse: the Facade of Free Trade Hiding Protectionism for Multinational Corporations

Advocates use the concept of free trade like it’s a silver bullet that solves the world’s growth challenges to justify Fast Tracking the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. But hidden behind the façade of free trade the crony capitalists’ are fostering protectionism for multinational corporations in the form of the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS)…

CNN: Inside the trade bill’s collapse

(CNN) There’s no path for Congress to send President Barack Obama a historic free trade package right now, potentially marking the death of a measure he envisioned as a pillar of his second-term legacy. [Reposted from CNN  |  Eric Bradner and Deirdre Walsh  |  June 16, 2015] The House was expected to hold another vote…

Philly.com: On trade, Pelosi does GOP a favor

When Nancy Pelosi pleaded with her Democratic colleagues to “slow down the fast-track to get to a better deal for the American people,” the House minority leader inadvertently helped the GOP. By pulling the plug on President Obama’s crony corporatist trade deal, Pelosi effectively held Republicans back from colluding with an unpopular president to fully…