#TPP Fast Track Targets Local Foods Efforts by Karen Hansen-Kuhn + Take Action!

Dandelion Salad

by Karen Hansen-Kuhn
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
January 28, 2014

Image by stopfasttrack via Flickr

Congress is quietly considering legislation that would speed the passage of two mega trade agreements, and seeks to specifically eliminate government programs that favor “localization.” The bill would give the Obama Administration what is known as “fast track” authority—meaning Congress would surrender its constitutional authority to shape trade agreements negotiated by the president and instead can only vote up or down on the deal.

#TPP: Fast Tracking a Corporate Agenda by Karen Hansen-Kuhn + Action Alerts

Dandelion Salad

by Karen Hansen-Kuhn
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
January 10, 2014

Image by cool revolution via Flickr

The U.S. trade debate shifted into high gear yesterday with the introduction of Congressional bills to fast track trade deals. If approved, this would give the administration the authority to negotiate trade deals behind closed doors and then submit the resulting agreements to Congress for an up or down vote, with very limited debate and no possibility of amendments.

Secret Trade Agenda Threatens Shift Toward Sustainable Food System by Karen Hansen-Kuhn + Promises and Perils of the #TTIP

Dandelion Salad

Image by campact via Flickr

by Karen Hansen-Kuhn
www.iatp.org
October 24, 2013

After being delayed by the U.S. government shutdown, talks for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are quietly gearing up again. Tariff barriers between the U.S. and EU are already low, so these negotiations are focused squarely on achieving “regulatory coherence.”

Trade Secrets – Draft EU Documents Reveal Trade Agenda With U.S. by Karen Hansen-Kuhn (TTIP)

Dandelion Salad

Image by campact via Flickr

by Karen Hansen-Kuhn
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
July 3, 2013

Transparency and trade negotiations don’t seem to go together these days. Recent revelations in Spiegel disclosed that the U.S. government had been spying on its EU “partners” connected to negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP, probably better stated as the Trans Atlantic Free Trade agreement, or TAFTA, which very much rhymes with NAFTA). The French and German governments are outraged, with some parliamentarians calling for a suspension of the talks, slated to start next week in Washington, D.C.

TPP: Doubling Down On Failed Trade Policy by Karen Hansen-Kuhn + Lee Camp: The Secret Global Corporate Coup

Dandelion Salad

Image by Public Citizen via Flickr

by Karen Hansen-Kuhn
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
March 6, 2013

The 16th round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) began this week in Singapore. That trade deal has the potential to become the biggest regional free-trade agreement in history, both because of the size of the economies participating in the negotiations and because it holds open the possibility for other countries to quietly “dock in” to the existing agreement at some point in the future.