WASHINGTON - Today, Ways and Means Ranking Member Sander Levin, Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim McDermott and Rep. Earl Blumenauer, including nine other Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee, were joined by leaders from the conservation community in releasing a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk urging the inclusion of strong, enforceable environmental provisions in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). They praised the innovative conservation text that has already been proposed in the TPP negotiations that compels strong action to address the illegal trade in wood and wood products, illegal wildlife trade, fisheries subsidies, marine conservation and shark preservation.
“Enforceable environmental commitments are a cornerstone of Democrats’ trade agenda and are critical to ensuring that U.S workers and businesses can compete on a level playing field," said Ways and Means Ranking Member Levin. “Failing to include meaningful obligations in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement - at least as robust as the environmental provisions in the Peru FTA and in the three pending FTAs - is a non-starter."
“The May 10 Agreement of 2007 was a big down payment toward restoring bipartisan congressional support for U.S. trade policy," said Trade Subcommittee Ranking Member McDermott. “We cannot go back on that deal. The American public overwhelmingly supports the inclusion of strong environmental obligations in our trade agreements, and I fully expect the TPP will do that."
“It is imperative that the May 10th provisions on the environment be included in the TPP," said Rep. Blumenauer. “These provisions help to build stronger environmental laws around the world, generate sustainable development in all the partner countries, and give force to the President’s call for a high-standards agreement."
“If not properly managed, free trade agreements can exacerbate the exploitation of already depleted wildlife, fish and forests," said Todd Shelton, Vice President of U.S. Government Relations at the World Wildlife Fund. “The basic environmental provisions of the May 10th trade deal are essential, at a minimum, to limit the increased pressure from trade on vulnerable species and ecosystems."
“In order for the TPP to benefit the environment as well as expend trade, the nine countries entering into the TPP must ensure that they prevent illegal trade in wood, wildlife and marine species and rectify other longstanding conservation issues" said Mark W. Roberts, Senior Counsel at the Environmental Investigation Agency. “The TPP must harmonize trade liberalization with progressive and enforceable protection of the environment."
“We are pleased that key federal lawmakers are committed to including critical issues like illegal wildlife trade in the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement," said Marta Prado, Executive Director for International Trade and Development at Humane Society International. “We also applaud their strong leadership in working towards ensuring the provisions of the Bipartisan Trade Deal are incorporated in the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement."
The letter to the US Trade Representative urged that he do more to ensure that the environmental provisions called for in the May 10th bipartisan deal on trade be fully incorporated into the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. The provisions in question were incorporated in the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement that passed with bipartisan support and are included in all three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea. The letter urges that the May 10th provisions on the environment be included in the TPP. Those provisions include:
* The effective enforcement of multilateral environmental agreements
* The non-derogation from a party’s environmental laws; and
* The application of dispute settlement provisions for environmental obligations with the same stringent enforcement and remedies that apply to commercial obligations.
While some environmental provisions are already being negotiated, the May 10th language is yet to be released, and the signatories to the letter wanted to convey to the U.S. Trade Representative that the Trans-Pacific Partnership would not have their support without the strong environmental language called for in the 2007 may 10th Agreement.
More information on the Bipartisan May 10th Free Trade Agreement can be found here. #
