Proposal: Platform Amendment - International Trade

Green Parties around the world stand for international trade policies that respect the planet's ecology, peoples' social needs, and the self-determination of communities, regions and nations.

The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) constituteds a major steps toward internationalization of commerce that, in many instances, supersededs the authorities of local and national governments' authority. GATT's World Trade Organization and NAFTA's Trilateral Commission allowed transnational corporations to circumvent national environmental, health, and labor standards and laws. Corporations characterized these laws, intended to protect people and the planet, as impediments to trade. For example, Thus, NAFTA's Chapter 11 alloweds for corporations to gain restitution if their assets were are expropriated (taken by a government). However, cCorporate lawyers are now pursueding an interpretation that stated says that any decrease in shareholder value be was is considered expropriation, . In other words, that is, any decrease in profit should be compensated by tax payers. This new interpretation is the basis for numerous lawsuits that will be settled in secretive tribunals with no public representation, but it is the public that will pay the penalties if these cases are found in favor of the corporations. One such case is a billion dollar lawsuit against the U.S. by the Canadian company that produces MTBE (the gasoline additive). Since California outlawed the additive, the corporation is claiming this to be an expropriation.

GATT and NAFTA sought seek to equalize protective regulations at the lowest possible level. Effectively, this was is international deregulation of trade. Corporations are, and have been, engaged in a sustained and comprehensive assault on all consumer and environmental protections. Under GATT, for example, practices that were have already been challenged by corporations included: U.S. Clean air Act rules; U.S. fuel efficiency standards; European regulations on hormones in beef; Thailand's restrictions on importation of cigarettes; Indonesia's halting of rattan exports to protect their forests; the U.S. ban on importation of asbestos; the U.S. ban on importation of tuna caught in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act; and Massachusetts' ban on state purchases from companies doing business in Burma. Moreover, uUnder NAFTA a U.S. corporation sued is suing the Canadian government for damages it claimeds were are caused by Canada's pollution laws on gasoline additives. This trend indicated implies a deliberate subversion of national sovereignty by multinational corporations. Issues such as child labor, resource conservation, worker health and safety, and environmental protection were, and continue can now to be, compromised by the corporations' unchecked pursuit of profit by corporations.

The inclusion of Low Income Countries (LIC's) into the high-roller world of unregulated global trade also increaseds the pressure on these fragile economies to become export oriented. This complementeds the austerity programs of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that have imposed economic colonialism on debtor LIC's (see the Third World Debt section below). GATT and NAFTA also limited a country's ability to regulate foreign investment, and open markets to services such as banking and lending. This can resulted in some smaller countries losing control of their own national economies.

The partial failure and mixed success of these corporate strategies stimulated the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) of 2005. Then followed the “secret” dealings of corporations and governments associated with the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Pacific rim countries (TPP), the partnership of NAFTA and Europe (the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement-TAFTA), and the global trade pact (Trade in Services Agreement (TISA)), with their corporate masters. These dealings must be stopped.

To foster economic, social and environmental justice in the internationalization of trade, the Green Party calls to: for supplementing these Trade Agreements:

1. Maintain each government’s authority to regulate the health and safety of its workers, protect its environment, and preserve its natural resources.
 
2. Implement protective tariffs and trade barriers to protect local, state and national health, safety, labor and environmental standards against lower standards in other countries. These trade restrictions should only be used to promote better environment and labor conditions, and not to protect domestic employers from competition.
 
3. Counterbalance commerce becoming global by labor unions doing the same. The well- established unions of the developed countries should expand their organizations to assist, or help establish, viable unions in LIC's. [see Unions plank]
 
4. Allow countries to refuse trade for human rights, workers' rights, social justice, or other legal and moral concerns.
 
5. Insist international trade policies, agreements and institutions promote ecologically sustainable economic self-reliance in all countries. [see Third World Debt and Foreign Policy planks]

6. Prohibit secret talks between corporations and governments on trade matters.

7. Abolish Oppose fast track authority of the U.S. President and of heads of state on trade unless the elected representatives of the people of their nations first vote affirmatively on the trade agreements proposals proposals

8. Dismantle GATT, NAFTA, and CAFTA, and stop all “secret” talks on TPP, TAFTA, and TISA.   

COMMITTEE DECISION . The platform plank revisions were suggested by comments on a separate plank dealing with the Trans Pacific Partnership created by Joel Sarch, but subsequently disapproved at the Isla Vista General Assembly of 061214 This revised plank was 1^st posted on the Platform listserve on 032214 followed by revisions on 040414, 040614, 043014, 091814, 092914, 101014, and finalized on 110914. The voting by Nov 16 2014 was Co-Co Shane Que Hee and Peggy Koteen Yes, and CC Co-Co Marnie Glickman No, with Joe Fulgaro and Jesse Moorman not commenting or voting at any stage.

RESOURCES: This is a revised GPCA platform plank.

The clean copy follows.

International Trade Agreements

110914

Green Parties around the world stand for international trade policies that respect the planet's ecology, peoples' social needs, and the self-determination of communities, regions and nations.

The implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) constituted major steps toward internationalization of commerce that, in many instances, superseded the authorities of local and national governments. GATT's World Trade Organization and NAFTA's Trilateral Commission allowed transnational corporations to circumvent national environmental, health, and labor standards and laws. Corporations characterized these laws, intended to protect people and the planet, as impediments to trade. Thus, NAFTA's Chapter 11 allowed corporations to gain restitution if their assets were expropriated (taken by a government). Corporate lawyers pursued an interpretation that stated that any decrease in shareholder value was considered expropriation, that is, any decrease in profit should be compensated by tax payers

 
GATT and NAFTA sought to equalize protective regulations at the lowest possible level. Effectively, this was international deregulation of trade. Corporations are, and have been, engaged in a sustained and comprehensive assault on all consumer and environmental protections. Under GATT, for example, practices that were challenged by corporations included: U.S. Clean air Act rules; U.S. fuel efficiency standards; European regulations on hormones in beef; Thailand's restrictions on importation of cigarettes; Indonesia's halting of rattan exports to protect their forests; the U.S. ban on importation of asbestos; the U.S. ban on importation of tuna caught in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act; and Massachusetts' ban on state purchases from companies doing business in Burma. Under NAFTA a U.S. corporation sued the Canadian government for damages it claimed were caused by Canada's pollution laws on gasoline additives. This trend indicated a deliberate subversion of national sovereignty by multinational corporations. Issues such as child labor, resource conservation, worker health and safety, and environmental protection were, and continue to be, compromised by the unchecked pursuit of profit by corporations.
 
The inclusion of Low Income Countries (LIC's) into the high-roller world of unregulated global trade also increased the pressure on these fragile economies to become export oriented. This complemented the austerity programs of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that imposed economic colonialism on debtor LIC's (see the Third World Debt section below). GATT and NAFTA also limited a country's ability to regulate foreign investment, and open markets to services such as banking and lending. This resulted in some smaller countries losing control of their own national economies.

The partial failure and mixed success of these corporate strategies stimulated the passage of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) of 2005. Then followed the “secret” dealings of corporations and governments associated with the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Pacific rim countries (TPP), the partnership of NAFTA and Europe (the Trans-Atlantic Free Trade Agreement-TAFTA), and the global trade pact (Trade in Services Agreement (TISA)), with their corporate masters. These dealings must be stopped.
 
To foster economic, social and environmental justice in the internationalization of trade, the Green Party calls to:
 
1. Maintain each government’s authority to regulate the health and safety of its workers, protect its environment, and preserve its natural resources.
 
2. Implement protective tariffs and trade barriers to protect local, state and national health, safety, labor and environmental standards against lower standards in other countries. These trade restrictions should only be used to promote better environment and labor conditions, and not to protect domestic employers from competition.
 
3. Counterbalance commerce becoming global by labor unions doing the same. The well- established unions of the developed countries should expand their organizations to assist, or help establish, viable unions in LIC's. [see Unions plank]
 
4. Allow countries to refuse trade for human rights, workers' rights, social justice, or other legal and moral concerns.
 
5. Insist international trade policies, agreements and institutions promote ecologically sustainable economic self-reliance in all countries. [see Third World Debt and Foreign Policy planks]

6. Prohibit secret talks between corporations and governments on trade matters

7. Abolish fast track authority of the U.S. President and of heads of state on trade unless the elected representatives of the people of their nations first vote affirmatively on the trade proposals

8. Dismantle GATT, NAFTA, and CAFTA, and stop all “secret” talks on TPP, TAFTA, and TISA.