Fiscal Note
No appropriation is required.
Title
SUBSTITUTE. Declaring the City of Madison's Opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Body
WHEREAS, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is being negotiated between the United States and 12 or more Pacific Rim countries by the U.S. Trade Representative in secret without any consultation with our local government, either directly or through the National League of Cities or the U.S. Conference of Mayors; and
WHEREAS, the text is being drafted with advice from transnational corporations which will benefit greatly from its rules; and
WHEREAS, the TPP text has not been made available to the public or to our local officials; and
WHEREAS, the Administration expects Congress to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership under "Fast Track" procedural rules, which forbid Congress from amending it and which require an up-or-down vote in 60 days; and
WHEREAS, reports on the substance of the TPP indicate it would have direct, potentially undesirable consequences for the City of Madison, its people, its local businesses and its environment; and
WHEREAS, the Investment Chapter of the TPP, which was leaked in 2012, would allow foreign corporations to sue the U.S. and its states over any law or regulation which would reduce their future profits and, therefore, potentially rob the City of Madison of needed protections for our people, local businesses and environment, and such an agreement would represent an improper intrusion on the sovereignty of the states; and
WHEREAS, TPP financial rules would weaken or prevent regulation of risky financial products such as "interest rate swaps," thereby threatening the financial stability of our government and, more broadly, the stability of our overall economy; and
WHEREAS, U.S., state and local food safety rules could be challenged by foreign corporations as "illegal trade barriers" if higher than standards in the TPP, thus threatening the health of our residents; and
WHEREAS, t...
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