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Recently Wikileaks offered a reward for the text of the secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). A people’s hero must have stepped forward because today Wikileaks released the full text of the chapter on Intellectual Property Rights. Click here to see their report.

The TPP has been kept secret by the Obama Administration for nearly 4 years because they know that if people find out what is in it, they will strongly oppose it. Their worst fears have been confirmed today with the release of the text, as have our suspicions that the TPP was a huge power grab by transnational corporations. The texts reveal that the United States is isolated in bullying other countries to go against the health and desires of their people and that those countries have been pushing back.

The TPP has been negotiated with the assistance of more than 600 corporate advisers while Congress has been largely excluded from the process. The President is pushing Congress to give him Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority so he can sign the agreement before Congress has a chance to vote on it. Under Fast Track, Congress would have limited time to review and debate the TPP and would not have the power to amend it, only to vote up or down on it.  

The Obama Administration hoped to have the TPP signed into law by the end of the year, but momentum is building to keep that from happening. This month, two resolutions were passed in Wisconsin opposing the TPP and other local governments are in the process of doing the same.This week, letters were sent by coalitions of members from both parties in Congress opposing the President’s request that they give up their responsibility to oversee commerce and fully review the contents of the TPP. Last night, actions were held in a dozen cities across the country to shine a light on the TPP. In less than a month, on December 3, people all around the world are planning actions to oppose the World trade Organization and toxic trade agreements.