Why Is the U.S. Desperate to OK Slavery in Malaysia? | 27 May 2015 | On Friday night, in an impressive display of dysfunction, the U.S. Senate approved a controversial trade corporate control bill with a provision that the White House, Senate leadership and the author of the language himself wanted taken out. The provision, which bars countries that engage in slavery from being part of major trade deals with the U.S., was written by Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.). At the insistence of the White House, Menendez agreed to modify his language to say that as long as a country is taking “concrete” steps toward reducing human trafficking and forced labor, it can be part of a ‘trade’ deal. Under the original language, the country that would be excluded from the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership pact is Malaysia…Observers are left with a deeper question: Why, in the year 2015, is the White House teaming up with Republican leaders essentially to defend the practice of slavery?
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TISA: Yet Another Leaked Treaty You’ve Never Heard of Makes Secret Rules for the Internet | 27 May 2015 | A February 2015 draft of the secret Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) was leaked again last week, revealing a more extensive and more recent text than that of portions from an April 2014 leak that we covered last year. Together with the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), TISA completes a trifecta of trade agreements that the administration could sign under Fast Track without full congressional oversight. Although it is the least well-known of those agreements, it is the broadest in terms of membership.
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