Letter: All aspects of treaty missing in column

Tim Burrack's Jan. 31 column 'Caucus voters should consider trade” supporting the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) failed to mention two disastrous sections of the treaty.

Under the intellectual property rights section, pharmaceutical companies are extending monopoly pricing on drugs and blocking access to generics. The provisions impede government's ability to increase competition to lower drug prices. It would extend to half a billion people abroad policies that are making drugs unaffordable here. According to humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders, the TPP would be the most damaging trade agreement ever for access to medicines. It maximizes profits at the cost of lives.

Secondly, the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provisions allow multinational corporations to sue governments for laws, policies or regulations they claim will reduce profits. These ISDS provisions severely restrict environmental, health, safety and financial regulations. Canadian firm TransCanada is suing the U.S. for $15 billion under NAFTA's ISDS provisions because President Barack Obama canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. Multinational corporations can sue even if regulations are non-discriminatory and apply equally to all corporations. While corporations can sue governments under ISDS, the reverse is impossible. Neither governments, NGOs, workers, nor consumers can sue corporations under ISDS for abusive behavior. ISDS suits are decided in private trade tribunals, not public courts. ISDS provisions grant corporations rights that supersede national sovereignty.

This trade treaty was negotiated in secret with the continuous and close participation of corporate representatives, without access by organizations representing workers, consumers, environmentalists, or public health. Every member of the Iowa Congressional delegation should oppose it.

Ellen Fisher

Cedar Rapids