TEU national president Tom Ryan has added TEU’s signature to a letter from a wide range of civil society groups calling for government to exercise caution in its current negotiations of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) .

The TTPA has been called a “free trade agreement” by its proponents but in reality, the main function of the agreement would be to establish an array of new investor rights and privileges that could undermine vast swathes of important non-trade laws, policies and practices in the nine countries currently involved. These constraints would bind our governments into the indefinite future.

The USA is effectively setting the terms for the current negotiations, based on a standard template that replicates the U.S. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) model.

That agreement not only establishes vast new investor rights to acquire land, natural resources, financial and other firms and operate them under deregulated terms – it also elevates private investors to equal status as sovereign government signatories to the agreement. Under the U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) model, foreign investors and corporations are empowered to privately enforce their new ‘trade’ pact privileges by suing signatory governments and seeking monetary compensation for government actions they consider would undermine their expected future profits.

Dr Ryan said when signing the letter that there can be no doubt that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is going to be a major issue in New Zealand over the coming months and years.

“It has significant implications for our members – especially regarding the provision, and indeed survival, of public services such as tertiary education, in this country and across the region.”

“Too many free trade agreements that have been negotiated recently give big corporations the right to go to secret international tribunals where they can either challenge or seek compensation for other countries’ labour laws, public provision of services and government support for public education. We don’t want to see that happen with this agreement,” said Dr Ryan.