IT'S OUR FUTURE NZ

TPPA NEWS BULLETIN #36

16 JULY 2013

PRISM, Spying, Privacy and TPPA

MFAT ‘information briefings’ waste of time

Stiglitz stinging critiques of TPPA

Groser reveals Fonterra game plan

US Congressman gets to see text, but can’t tell!

Der Spiegel revealed the US raids on privacy and information include spying on EU missions and potentially its trade negotiators. That almost detailed the first round negotiations for the Trans-Atlantic Trade Agreement – the big brother that parallels the TPPA, with the US at the centre of both. Jeremy Malcolm from Consumer International is speaking on PRISM and TPPA in Malaysia later this week; check the website.The three ‘stakeholder information sessions’ on the TPPA in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch were predictable non-events. MFAT will now claim it has consulted and is transparent. Judge for yourself by the notes on our website ( Auckland and Wellington ). Compare that to the briefing from the Malaysian government , hardly renowned for its transparency!Joseph Stiglitz has trashed the TPPA as ‘a managed trade regime that puts corporate interests first, and a process of negotiations that is undemocratic and non-transparent’. Read his separate attack on intellectual property rights for fuelling inequality.In a speech extolling Knowledge Based Capital - New Zealand’s intellectual property in agriculture- Trade Minister Groser said exporting milk is fine but finite. The marketing and distribution channels of Fonterra ‘is the real jewel in the crown’. Groser’s idea that you back firms who are already winners rather than assist new ones to encourage diversification. Very convenient for Fonterra, but no guarantee there are any jobs in it for New Zealanders.