On Jan. 9, Democratic Party Senator Max Baucus introduced a bill that would authorize “fast track” procedures for the approval of international trade agreements. The measure, pushed by the president and supported by Congressional Democrats and Republicans, suspends normal rules of debate for a set amount of time to allow these deals to be ratified with minimal public scrutiny.
Although its passage is not certain due to opposition from both poor and working people as well as tariff-dependent sectors of the capitalist class such as the auto industry, fast track threatens to further erode living conditions that have already been devastated by the economic crisis.
The most immediate aim of this maneuver is to facilitate the rapid approval of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a NAFTA-like “free trade” zone that will remove many of the bureaucratic and regulatory obstacles to intensifying exploitation of the working class. Ruling-class politicians and corporate trade negotiators have been hard at work for over three years crafting this new instrument that would potentially cover more than a dozen Pacific Rim states in Asia, Australia and the Americas.
The countries involved are a mix of imperialist states, such as the United States and Japan, as well as underdeveloped countries like Peru and Malaysia. The TPP will further infringe on the sovereignty of the latter, while devastating workers and small businesspeople of all nationalities.
Negotiated in secret
Beyond partial leaks that have surfaced, it is difficult to get a full picture of what exactly the TPP entails because it is being negotiated in secret. The only ones with full access to information related to the agreement are “cleared advisors” who are designated by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, which works directly under the president.
The cleared advisors consist of roughly 700 corporate agents from Johnson and Johnson, Verizon, Cisco Systems, General Electric, the pharmaceutical industry and other representatives of monopoly capital. The composition of the advisory team clearly shows whose interests the government has in mind when it is in negotiating sessions for the TPP.
Fast track adds an additional layer of secrecy. The U.S. legislative process is designed to solicit the opinions of a representative range of the different sectors of the ruling class while providing the illusion of democratic choice to the oppressed majority. This measure allows supporters of the TPP to bypass this procedure because they anticipate major resistance from multiple angles if there is a prolonged, public debate.
TPP and the objectives of the ruling class
Such drastic measures are being taken because the TPP has major long-term, strategic value to the ruling class. On one hand, they hope that a new, massive free trade zone can stimulate the economy and give new life to the lackluster “recovery.”
To revive the rate of profit, the capitalists can reduce the cost of labor by lowering wages or reduce the cost of constant capital by gaining access to cheaper raw materials and natural resources. The TPP could possibly accomplish both.
The TPP also closely aligns with the main military strategy of U.S. imperialism—the “pivot to Asia.” Under this Pentagon doctrine, the bulk of U.S. military assets and a large number of troops are being shifted to the Asia-Pacific region as their presence in the Middle East is scaled down. This will bring about tremendous suffering in the communities near U.S. bases, which will be subjected to violent crime, environmental damage and other injustices. The targeted nations as a whole will be robbed of their right to self-determination.
The major political objective of the pivot to Asia is to contain China, which is not involved in the TPP negotiations. The U.S. government sees China as a main rival on several levels, including in international trade and global diplomacy.
The pivot to Asia also gives U.S. imperialism the necessary military muscle to protect its capitalists as they heighten their exploitation of the region. The flood of finance capital that the TPP promises will go hand-in-hand with a flood of warships, soldiers and drones.
While the politicians may have labelled the TPP a “partnership,” there is certainly no mutual benefit for poor and working people of any nationality. The debate over fast track, which is causing disunity inside the ruling class itself, is a major opportunity for the working class to organize and bring light to this issue that the rich and powerful would rather cover up.
