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NZ must walk away from the TPPA

FB coverThe leaks are coming thick and fast as Trans Pacific Partnership talks are reaching their conclusion. From what we know, it seems there are many downsides and not many benefits for our nation.

In the words of Kenny Rogers, “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em. Know when to fold ’em.”

Well, we think it’s time to fold ‘em.

We’re worried that Trade Minister Tim Groser is afraid he would lose face if New Zealand was to walk away from the deal at this late stage, but it’s what we need to do.

A trade deal that privileges big business over nations, that reduces our ability to purchase affordable medicines, that will impact on our health and well-being in many ways is not a deal we need.

Sometimes the bravest thing to do is walk away.

 

You might be interested in some of our other writings about the TPPA

Don’t sign our future away

Who’s in charge here?

Why the TPPA is a health issue

Nurses support the call for TPPA transparency and health check

NZNO sends open letter about TPPA to Prime Minister

It’s our future – we want a say

TPPA not democratic and not right nurses say

Pharmac under attack

 


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Who’s in charge here?

2007-08-02-UncleSam-thumbNZNO senior policy analyst Marilyn Head asks why we would want to let the United States dictate New Zealand’s laws.

I’ve been following the progress of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations right from the beginning. It’s a scary process, being negotiated in secret. The leaked documents I have seen show that if signed, New Zealand would lose out in all sorts of ways – from a loss of sovereignty to adversely affected public health outcomes.

What I didn’t fully appreciate until now was that, if we go ahead with the agreement, the United States’ (US) heavy handed approach to enforcement could extend as far as directing New Zealand’s laws. Judging by information released on a new website which  identifies the legislative changes the US might expect of  TPP partners, it appears I was overly optimistic.

The US has a ‘certification’ process which involves consultation with and monitoring of trading partners to ensure that their regulatory environment in consistent with treaty/partnership obligations. While that sounds fair – we all want to be sure that we are operating from a level playing field – in practice it is more ominous, amounting  to direct interference in the democratic processes of sovereign nations.

The certification process would come after the TPP agreement is signed! It is another opportunity for the US to tell us what laws and regulations we must change before they implement the agreement. It is like having another bite at the cherry. It enables the US to exert huge pressure on countries which may not want to risk the ‘good deal’ they’ve signed up to with 11 other countries if the US pulls out.

The website exposé shows the areas they will be looking for ‘compliance’ with US regulations and the sort of pressure they’ve exerted on countries such as Peru where, as part of the certification process for the Peru-US free trade agreement, the Office of the United States Trade Representative actually drafted Peru’s legislation and demanded that it be accepted without change, with quite disastrous consequences for Peruvians.

The ‘barriers’ the US wants removed according to the website,  will require changes to our domestic copyright and patent laws and Pharmac’s operating processes –  changes that NZNO and many in the health sector have repeatedly pointed out present a risk of  increasing the cost of medicines and limiting  government’s ability to regulate for public good. The New Zealand Climate and Health Council OraTaiao says (pdf) that losing our sovereign right to create and strengthen the laws that form the building blocks for fair and healthy lives – access to medicines, clean water, food and air – will make it extremely difficult for New Zealand to maintain and improve our quality of life.

I agree. New Zealand laws must be made by New Zealanders.

Ahakoa, he iti he pounamu.

 

 


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Don’t sign our future away!

TPPA311Last weekend Trade Minister, Tim Groser accused NZNO and others of being less than truthful when we say New Zealanders are not being consulted about the Trans Pacific Partnership agreement (TPPA), which is currently being negotiated in secret.

He said, in a RadioNZ interview, “There’ve been more discussions with stakeholders on this agreement by a country mile than any trade agreement I’ve been associated with negotiating in New Zealand in the past 30 years, it’s just that these are people taking a very, very politicised view of the matter.”

He then went on to assure New Zealanders that they would hear the facts when the deal was put before Parliament.

Sadly, he neglected to say that when the deal does finally “get to Parliament’ it will be waaaay too late to do anything about it. In fact, Parliament itself is not even able to do anything about it.

Professor Jane Kelsey explains, “Parliament’s role in treaty making is largely symbolic. It has no power to decide whether or not the TPPA should be signed or ratified and no ability to change its terms TPPA or require it to be renegotiated. The select committee process is a farcical exercise because its members know they cannot change the treaty.”

And as for those purported consultations… a few private briefings of selected health representatives does not qualify as transparent, informed public debate.

Why is the content of the TPPA a secret to New Zealand stakeholders? We expect transparency and the protection of public health as a key pillar of our social democracy. ‘Commercial sensitivity’ does not justify blanket secrecy where publicly funded health is at stake; especially when, unlike New Zealand citizens, US trade lobbyists have access to the ‘secret’ text.

We do know some things about what is being negotiated – I blogged about it here and it’s not good news.

Most governments, and it seems that ours is likely to be one, will be deterred from public health regulation because they’re scared of being sued by big business, though a few have refused to be intimidated. Australia went ahead with its plain packaging of tobacco products and is staunchly defending its right to do so against three investor challenges, at a cost of many millions of dollars. Disappointingly, New Zealand reacted by delaying its plain packaging legislation, leaving Australia to defend this important public health decision alone.

This agreement was initiated before the global financial crisis in 2008 and both the economic climate and the public’s willingness to accept deregulated markets allowing unbridled corporate growth have changed a lot since then. People are aware that while there have been tremendous gains as a result of new health technologies and medicines, the benefits have not been shared equally. Inequility is increasing globally, regionally and within New Zealand. The TPPA has the potential to exacerbate that inequity if the growth and innovation it promises increases the costs of health care as has been suggested.

Come on Minister Groser – release the text, release publicly commissioned information and analysis, and give New Zealanders a say in what you’re signing us up to.

 


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Why the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is a health issue

ImageWe’re hearing more and more people, from all over the world, talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement  (TPPA), and they are all saying the same thing: trade deals that are negotiated in secret, that do not give citizens any say over the content, that have the potential to have huge effect on the lives of ordinary people should stop right now. We at NZNO agree; we have a right to know what’s going on.

The TPPA is a free trade agreement that is being negotiated between the United States and ten other Asian and Pacific Rim countries. The negotiations are being held in secret, so what we do know comes from leaked documents.

The things we are finding out are extremely worrying. Big business seems to be in control.

And when big businesses have more rights than States and Governments, you know that it is the citizens of those countries who will bear the brunt.

The group set up to demand transparency and fairness in the TPPA, Itsourfuture.org.nz says,

“From what we know so far, if the negotiations are completed it will become much harder for the New Zealand government to look after our environment, promote health, protect workers and consumers, and promote the public interest.”

NZNO is particularly concerned about that public health will be a major loser under the TPPA and this is why …

Pharmac is New Zealand’s purchasing agency for medicines. It buys all the drugs for the country, in bulk and generic versions where possible, to give tax payers the best value for money. It’s a very clever system and as a result we end up paying much less for medicines and medical equipment than other countries like Australia and the US.

The agreement will give big pharmaceutical companies the ability to patent their products for longer, meaning that cheap “off-patent” generic drugs will not be available for years, and possibly decades. They will also be able to make tiny tweaks to existing drugs and then patent them again.

The agreement will also put into place “transparency” provisions which will interfere with the successful commercial strategies that PHARMAC uses to get medicines at an affordable price.

New Zealanders need access to affordable medicines. We are a small country; Pharmac uses our bargaining power very effectively and must be protected from provisions in the TPPA which reduce its effectiveness.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the only provision in the TPPA that will affect the health of New Zealanders and their safety. There’s more on the It’s our future  website and NZNO will blog about this important issue again.