OPINION: Brooklyn will suffer with the passage of TPP
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a massive trade deal like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), but even bigger. How could a treaty involving twelve Pacific Rim countries impact our neighborhoods here in Brooklyn? Plenty. As your representative in Albany, I feel it is my job to stand up against this deal that would take power away from Brooklynites and give it to trans-national corporations.
If you are not aware of TPP, you are not alone. It has been negotiated by trade representatives of the 12 nations with advice from more than 600 corporate lawyers in private. Its details remained shrouded in mystery. The secrecy of the deal is the first sign that we as Brooklyn residents should be suspicious. If it is so good, why keep the negotiations so secret?
I consider this treaty a threat to our rights as consumers, workers and most importantly, a threat to our rights as citizens. Since this would be an international treaty, TPP would stand above U.S. laws. That means a corporation could sue New York state if we pass a law they do not like. If we decide that we do not want an oil pipeline under Flatbush Avenue, an oil company could sue New York for lost profits. And they could win.