On May 8, the latest negotiating session
for the latest secretive trade agreement will start in Dallas and continue for
two weeks. The Transpacific
Partnership Agreement (TPP) is a wide-ranging agreement being negotiated by the
U.S. and eight countries, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New
Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Like its predecessor, the
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), most of the work is being done
behind doors closed to the general public. Also like ACTA, there could be severe harmful effects on
copyright law. (Unlike ACTA, at
some point the agreement will be considered by Congress.)
Public Knowledge will be in Dallas to
monitor the talks, to provide a
resource for negotiators and to make clear the need for a more public
process. The group also has set up
a new Web site, http://tppinfo.org, to provide
news, analysis and commentary from our experts and from others around the world
about TPP.
Here is a brief video which explains the
importance of TPP: