Patagonia takes stand against the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Patagonia CEO Rose Marcario has spoken out against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement due to the “social and environmental costs”.
Although the group stands to gain financially from TPP and the potential duty relief on products made within the region, she questions the secrecy surrounding the negotiations.
She said: “Although we understand the need for some confidentiality around multi-round trade agreements, it’s absurd for the Administration to seek endorsement from business leaders for a pact we and interested NGOs or ordinary citizens are not allowed to read. We still don’t have a clear view to labor provisions, environmental protections or agricultural impacts contained in TPP.”
She added the company was sceptical about whether environmental and labour protections will be enforced, citing that it hasn’t been the case for previous trade deals.
Another concern is the Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism, which allows multinationals and hedge funds to sue for lost profits should any of the participating nations, including the US, strengthen environmental protections above the levels specified by the agreement. “Nations seeking to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions would put themselves at risk should they pass laws any tougher than those allowed by the pact. For environmental protection, this encourages a race to the bottom. Global multinationals benefit and taxpayers foot the bill.
“Every week we hear from customers asking why we can’t make more clothing here at home. We don’t have a great answer: The infrastructure is gone but for all the simplest clothes. The best factories - those able to meet our strict standards for quality and social and environmental responsibility - are now overseas.
“The question, ultimately, isn’t whether trade is free, which it mostly is around the globe, but who benefits from a new trade pact. Does it serve the many, in our country and abroad, or only a few -those who have the economic and political muscle to get their interests written, opaquely and without public oversight, into law?”
The TPP is a proposed regional regulatory and investment treaty between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
