TPP – Cannot tell you!

The Trans Pacific Partnership failed to conclude once again as the members could not agree on two items, dairy products and drugs. The 12 member countries would have to go back to get more inputs to sort out these two areas to come to a compromise. The problem with the drug issue is about the length of protection for exclusive rights to the manufacturers of drugs. The USA wanted 12 years but prepared to compromise at 8. The other countries wanted this to be 5 years. The US wanted to protect the drug makers and keeping the prices of drugs high and thus not available to people from poorer countries. In the case of dairy products, farmers of some countries fear competition affecting their livelihood.

What is important is not about their failure to reach an agreement but the secrecy of the agreements. What is so secret and why so secret they cannot be made known. Anything that cannot tell is dangerous and fearful. They must have things that they did not want the world to know, the people of those countries signing the agreement to know.

Now, is that comforting or frightening? Or it is a case that it is best for the people of the countries not to know? And the proponents of the TPP did not even bother to make any motherhood statement like the TPP is good for the signing countries and also for the people. Scare or not?

Like all con men, trust me, no need to know, it is good for you. Now who are the countries so happy and willing to sign a secretive agreement without telling their citizens? Would this be another form of CECA? The countries involved in the negotiation are Japan, Mexico, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Chile, New Zealand, South Korea, Peru, Australia, Canada  and the USA.

Cannot tell must be good.