President Obama’s attempt to finalize his legacy took a very strong hit over the past two days as two of Europe’s largest economies summarily rejected the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) because they don’t want to become ‘subjects’ of Washington and the U.S..
The TTIP, along with its sister trade pact the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), are extremely onerous agreements that are not only secret to most government legislators and to the world, but from what has been revealed through Wikileaks disclosures, create a new system where corporations are outside and beyond the jurisdiction of sovereign governments. In fact, from what has been revealed so far inside these trade agreements, countries would not be allowed to protect themselves from any unsafe practices done by corporations which include forced use of GMO products, and the rights of companies to sue governments if they pass laws affecting the potential for these businesses to earn a profit.
Just two days after Germany’s outspoken vice chancellor (who has over the past 48 hours slammed not just Merkel’s refugee policy but also Brexit negotiation demands), announced that Obama’s transatlantic trade treaty, the TTIP, is dead, saying negotiations have failed because “we Europeans did not want to subject ourselves to American demands”, France voiced its support to the German position when the French trade minister on Tuesday called for an end to trade negotiations between the European Union and the U.S., the firmest sign yet of opposition in Europe to what would be the most ambitious trade deal in decades.
Matthias Fekl, cited by the WSJ, said on French radio that “France no longer politically supports these negotiations,” adding that “The Americans are giving us nothing. This is not how allies should be negotiating.” Fekl said he would ask the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, at a meeting of trade ministers late September to end negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, generally known as TTIP. The Commission leads talks with the U.S. for the EU. - Zerohedge
Ironically as well, the signing of the TPP by 12 nation states last year was a virtual smoke and mirror agreement since more than half of the signers are also members of China’s Asean cooperative, and have also signed on to the Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB) which is an adversary to U.S. financial hegemony.
It is astounding that any nation would ever think of singing onto a trade agreement in which the majority of their government, and none of their peoples, are allowed to even read the treaty, much less have a say in the forging of the agreement itself. And it is in large part to the protestations and awakening of hundreds of thousands in Europe who have voiced their opposition to the TTIP that has pretty much put a nail in its coffin on the European continent.
Kenneth Schortgen Jr is a writer for Secretsofthefed.com, Examiner.com,Roguemoney.net, and To the Death Media, and hosts the popular web blog, The Daily Economist. Ken can also be heard Wednesday afternoons giving an weekly economic report on the Angel Clark radio show.