Hundreds of Thousands March in Germany Against TTIP and Corporate "Trade" Agreements

An excellent, brief video produced by Wikileaks — "The US strategy to create a new global legal and economic system: TPP, TTIP, TISA." Discusses the change from post-WWII U.S. economic dominance to adapting in a world with competitors. These three trade agreements are the U.S. attempt to recapture dominance by building a U.S. corporate-controlled legal superstructure.

by Gaius Publius

If you watched the video above (I hope you did), you learned how the triangle of new global super-agreements — TTP, TTIP, TiSA — are designed not just to re-establish U.S. trade dominance, lost after the post-WWII boom years, but also the dominance of U.S. corporations over markets all over the world, including in the U.S., at the expense of national sovereignty everywhere.

It's a powerful strategy, but it can only work (a) in secret, or (b) by manipulating the political process in every country considering it. In the U.S. we're seeing both, secrecy and political manipulation. The manipulation comes in the form of campaign contributions (and very likely, promises of very lucrative post-electoral jobs and rewards). The manipulation comes also in the form of media silence about these agreements (MSNBC is notable in this regard, especially including silence from the so-called "liberal" evening hosts), or outright media misrepresentation (for example, when the New York Times calls anti-Fast Track Democrats "anti-trade" and pro-Fast Track Democrats "pro-trade").

As for the latter examples, the Times is just lying, but they're also deeply committed to the corporate project. The New York Times Company is itself one of the corporate "bigs," with 2014 revenue of nearly $1.5 billion and assets of about $2.5 billion — so you know where their corporate heart lies, just as you know where the corporate heart of MSNBC, owned by Comcast, lies. Comcast had 2014 revenue of about $75 billion and assets of $166 billion. Corporate America wants these deals, and they're pulling out all the stops to get them.

As these agreements are leaked or released, they are almost universally hated — except by the holders of super-large personal and corporate fortunes who control both political parties, both houses of Congress, and the White House. (We'll leave the extent to which the courts are controlled by holders of large fortunes for later.)

I've been watching the progress of these agreements fairly closely, as have a great many others. The latest news is that, despite media reports implying that TPP is being rejected by congressional Republicans, it's not. Also, that TTIP, the Atlantic version of TTP, is being rejected by even European pro-corporate negotiators as containing "nothing but crumbs" for the Europeans.

Now there's even more bad news, at least for TTIP. Not only do the pro-corporate negotiators in Europe hate them; the people of Europe hate them even more. Jon Queally writing in Common Dreams:

Hundreds of Thousands March in Germany Against TTIP, CETA

These agreements, says critics, 'threaten environmental and consumer protection for millions of people in Europe and North America'

Hundreds of thousands took to city streets across Germany on Saturday as they marched against a pair of corporate-backed trade deals they say will undermine democracy, attack workers and local economies, and accelerate the threats posed by corporate hegemony and global warming.

Taking aim at both the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), European Union deals with the United States and Canada respectively, opponents say the agreements are not really concerned with expanding trade but rather increasing corporate power.

"CETA and TTIP threaten environmental and consumer protection for millions of people in Europe and North America," said Jennifer Morgan, co-executive director of Greenpeace International. "These agreements will weaken food safety laws, environmental legislation, banking regulations and undermine the sovereign powers of nations."

One view of the turnout in Berlin:

(Source; click to enlarge)

And another showing disdain for America's role in trying to force these deals on a public that hates them:

A man dressed like the Statue of Liberty attends a demonstration against the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP, and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA in Berlin, Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016. Thousands of people are rallying in cities across Germany to protest against planned European Union trade deals with the United States and Canada. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

I think still-in-office Obama may succeed in branding himself with these corporate trade deals. I'm not sure post-presidential Obama may like the post-branding result.

GP