https://www.citizen.org/documents/TPP-Buy-American.pdf
TPP Government Procurement Negotiations:
Buy American Policy Banned, a Net Loss for the U.S.
Negotiators from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) are currently engaged with
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and
Vietnam in a closed-door process that has been branded as a “trade” negotiation on a possible TransPacific
Partnership (TPP) agreement. But the issues under discussion extend far beyond tariffs and
other traditional trade matters. Under the proposed framework, U.S. states and the federal government
would be obliged to bring our existing and future domestic policies into compliance with expansive
norms set forth in 29 proposed TPP chapters, including one imposing limits on government
procurement policy. Failure to conform our domestic policies to these terms would subject the U.S.
government to lawsuits before dispute resolution tribunals empowered to authorize trade sanctions
against the United States until our policies are changed. Also, any “investor” that happens to be
incorporated in one of these countries would be empowered to launch its own extra-judicial attack on
our domestic laws in World Bank and UN arbitral tribunals with respect to changes to procurement
contracts with the U.S. federal government.
The TPP’s procurement chapter would require that all firms operating in any signatory country be
provided equal access as domestic firms to U.S. government procurement contracts over a certain
dollar threshold. To implement this “national treatment” requirement, the United States would agree to
waive Buy American procurement policies for all firms operating in the TPP countries.
Some corporate TPP proponents argue that this is good for the United States because these rules would
apply to all signatory countries, so U.S. firms would be able to bid on procurement contracts in other
countries on a national treatment basis. It is a ridiculous notion that new access for some U.S.
companies to bid on contracts in the TPP countries is a good trade-off for waiving Buy American
preferences on U.S. procurement: Taking even the most favorable cut on other countries’ markets,
the total U.S. procurement market is significantly larger than the combined procurement market
of all other TPP negotiating parties: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico,
New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Looks to me like the TPP would make a mockery of attempts to rebuild American infrastructure by hiring and buying American, not to mention putting those expring contracts out there for other countries. We would get sued in a private court staffed by corporate lawyers if we tried to buy/hire American.
And note - ALL of the contracts available from other signatories are a fucking pittance, next to USA contracts. So anyone who says this is a good thing for Americans is either lying or math-challenged or delusional.
= new reply since forum marked as read