Friday 31 July 2015

Trade, a Nation's Sovereignty and Economic Slavery

I have been following the progress of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement on and off for a few years now. Working in the broadcast media has meant I have been exposed to more information about it than the average Kiwi and what little I know and hear concerns me.

Let me say first up that I am not anti-trade. I think trade is a good thing and necessary to keep the economy going, help keep Kiwis in jobs and is important for New Zealand to survive in the world today. I also understand that many free trade deals are negotiated behind closed doors, and that there are good reasons for that. However, from what little is coming out about the TPPA, there is genuine cause for alarm.

One thing that concerns me is that once signed into the agreement, as a nation we cannot sign out of it. Surely there should always be an exit clause. Imagine signing up to a job where there is a clause stating that once signed, you are locked into that job for the rest of your life! There is a word for that - slavery. If this clause is indeed in the agreement this potentially locks us as a country into a system of economic slavery, where we lose our rights to economic freedom and choice.

I am also significantly concerned about how medical costs will increase under the agreement. There have been many articles about how Pharmac, our national drug buying agency, is hated by big pharmaceutical companies and how the TPPA will undermine the agency's very existence by stopping it from getting the best deal on medicines for all New Zealanders. See http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11488237 and http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1507/S00504/real-cost-of-pharmac-betrayal-revealed.htm as examples.  As an asthmatic I rely on regular use of medicine. Pharmac's ability to get good deals on asthma medicine is passed onto people like myself and I for one and pleased they do. Life is financially hard enough without watching my medical bills go through the roof because of the TPPA.

One of the things that the National led government has used as a justification for being involved in he TPPA is that it will open up markets for our dairy industry - one of the pillars of our economy. However, as the negotiations enter into their final stages, many economists and industry leaders are speaking out, saying that the TPPA will actually be disastrous for our dairy industry - see http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/70707583/dairy-deal-disastrous-as-tpp-talks-near-end

So, this so called free trade agreement that we will be locked into  will see an increase in the cost of our medicines and will negatively affect the biggest industry in our country. And then there are the potential threat of our country being sued by big businesses for "anti-competitive policies". In fact, all that is on offer at the moment is all negative for New Zealand and almost no positives. Come on John Key et al, have some courage, listen to your constituents and back out of this deal.

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As another self imposed deadline looms there are more and more good articles out there regarding the TPPA and the potential problems it can cause for New Zealand. Here is an excellent summary from Radio NZ: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/280132/the-tpp-a-guide-for-the-perplexed and this good article from Al Jazeera about the impact of the TPPA on Pharmac: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/07/pacific-rim-free-trade-deal-high-price-150729064048268.html
All of this opposition against a trade deal that is supposedly in the best interest of our country and I haven't even touched on how the TPPA will cause major headaches with the Treaty of Waitangi.