OK bill to object to ‘fair’ trade deal

Thank heaven for Washington state Sens. Chase, Haseqawa, Conway, Kohl-Welles and our own John McCoy for co-sponsoring SJM 8001. The bill would speak on behalf of the people of Washington state in objection to “fast tracking” another outrageous “fair” trade deal, the Trans Pacific Partnership. The TPP is clearly designed to usurp the authority of the participating nations and authorize corporations to craft self-serving regulations and impose binding legal judgments made by their own extrajudicial tribunals.

Countries and states could be sued for corporations’ perceived loss of potential income due to environmental or safety standards the corporate tribunal deems unreasonable. Fast track would force us to adopt the TPP as is, no changes. And all but Adam Smith and Jim McDermott among our delegation to Congress currently support fast track, including Rick Larsen. Are they serious? Why would we submit to that? Jobs? I don’t think so. The only “job” these fair trade agreements have delivered to us so far is the “hit job” they’ve done on American workers’ wages. Now they want to take away our ability to adopt reasonable environmental and safety standards as well.

Please go to the Legislature’s website, find bill No. 8001, and express your support for it on the comment page. And thank Sen. McCoy personally.

Ken Dammand

Tulalip