Fwd: We're not making this up

The World Trade Organization (WTO) just authorized up to $1 billion a year in trade sanctions against the U.S. if we don't get rid of the country-of-origin meat labels (COOL) that we rely on to make informed choices about our food.

The only good news about this outrageous ruling is that it might help kill the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by sending a clear warning about what's at stake — and at steak too!

And it follows just two weeks after the WTO ordered the U.S. to roll back the dolphin-safe tuna labeling policies that allow us to make sure the tuna we buy is caught in ways that do not kill dolphins.

These are just two more reasons why you should urge your members of Congress to reject the TPP.

Remember when President Barack Obama delivered that speech at Nike headquarters? He said critics' warnings that the TPP or any trade pact could "undermine American regulation — food safety, worker safety, even financial regulations" was "just not true ... they're making this stuff up. No trade agreement is going to force us to change our laws."

These WTO rulings prove yet again that trade agreements can undermine even the most popular U.S. consumer and environmental safeguards.

And the TPP would open us up to more of these threats and even empower foreign corporations to directly attack our laws.

The COOL case isn't the first trade pact attack on our laws. After losing past trade challenges, the U.S. rolled back gasoline cleanliness standards, protections for sea turtles and vehicle fuel efficiency requirements.

Tell your members of Congress to say "no!" to the TPP and its sneak attacks on our laws.

Nine out of 10 Americans support COOL. It is why meat in our grocery stores has labels that inform us where it comes from.

But the popular labeling policy has been under attack by Mexican and Canadian cattle and pork producers and the U.S. meat processing industry. When they could not stop Congress from passing the policy, they shifted to Plan B: deregulation by trade pact attack.

While you and I see this as an anti-democratic attack on a popular consumer policy, the corporate interests behind the TPP see only dollar signs.

That's because the TPP would expand the opportunities for such challenges, empowering corporations to roll back the consumer and environmental safeguards on which we all rely.

Take action now to stop the TPP.

Thanks for all you do.

In solidarity,

Melanie Foley
Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch
 

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