Democracy Leaves The Room — A VERY Bad Sign At Hearing For New Trade Representative

http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/dave-johnson/49927/democracy-leaves-the-room-a-very-bad-sign-at-hearing-for-new-trade-representative

Democracy Leaves The Room — A VERY Bad Sign At Hearing For New Trade Representative
by Dave Johnson | June 7, 2013 - 10:24am

The nominee for US Trade Representative (USTR) has just promised Congress that he will push for “Fast Track” authority. Fast Track essentially removes democracy from the trade negotiating and agreement process. It also gives negotiators the authority to go way beyond what we would consider “trade,” and requires a fast (60 days) “up or down” approval vote without amendments. This gives the giant corporations the opportunity to blast the country with major, multi-million-dollar PR campaigns just before a vote comes up, swamping the ability of We the People to organize and respond.

This just hit the news: Reuters, USTR nominee Froman promises push for trade promotion authority, “If confirmed, I will engage with you to renew Trade Promotion Authority. TPA is a critical tool. I look forward to working with you to craft a bill that achieves our shared goals,” Mike Froman, currently the White House international economic affairs adviser, said at his confirmation hearing.”

“Trade promotion authority” is also known as “Fast Track.”

~snip~

I wonder if there is any relationship between these…