skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Trans-Pacific Partnership: “Too Much Secrecy”

play audio
Play

Wednesday, February 11, 2015   

MADISON, Wis. - The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement critics call "NAFTA on steroids," has been the subject of largely secretive negotiations among the United States and 11 other nations.

What's been leaked about the agreement suggests that it contains huge changes in the way international business is done, said David Newby, president of the Wisconsin Fair Trade Coalition.

"They're very far-reaching and they have an immense effect on our workers and our economy," he said, "and yet they're negotiated in secret, so we have no idea for sure what is actually being talked about."

There is strong speculation now that President Obama will "fast-track" the agreement. Newby said this is bad for a number of reasons - first, because we don't know enough about what's actually in the proposal, and second, because fast-tracking would give all the negotiating power to the president, who then would send it to Congress.

"They can't amend it, they can't make any changes," he said, "and, in fact, debate is limited to 20 hours in the House, 20 hours in the Senate, and then they've got to vote it up or down."

If the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a good idea, Newby said, it would be debated in the open, rather than by process of the secretive talks that have been going on for years.

Supporters say the agreement will be a boon to international trade.

According to Newby, about 600 corporate lobbyists - but not journalists or the public - have access to the documents. He said some of the leaks have led him to believe the agreement would make it more difficult for American workers to compete for international business. He said Vietnam is one of the participating countries.

"The minimum wage in Vietnam is 56 cents an hour," he said. "Now, how can an American workers compete with workers that are making 56 cents an hour, a lot less than workers in China, for example."

Another leaked document outlined a provision where foreign corporations could file charges against the U.S. government for any new standards or regulations that could reduce the foreign company's expected profits - a provision Newby said could chill efforts to curb pollution.

"These suits are not heard in our courts," he said. "They go directly to the World Bank, which appoints a panel of international lawyers; they hear the case, and they have the power to levy unlimited fines against our government if companies find that these new regulations can reduce their profits."


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021