The U.S. Trade Representative – the federal agency responsible for negotiating trade treaties – has said that the details of the Trans Pacific Partnership are classified due to “national security”.

A Congressman who has seen the text of the treaty says:

There is no national security purpose in keeping this text secret … this agreement hands the sovereignty of our country over to corporate interests.

It will increase the cost of borrowing, make prescription drugs more expensive, destroy privacy, harm food safety, and – yes – literally act to destroy the sovereignty of the U.S. and the other nations which sign the bill.

To give an idea of what would happen to American law if TPP passes, just look at Equador …

It’s courts awarded billions against Chevron for trashing huge swaths of rainforest. But then a private arbitration panel simply ignored the country’s court system.

If TPP passes, American courts will be sidelined as well. (Conservatives might want to read this and this.)

William Pesek writes at Bloomberg: