Large corporations are pressuring Congress to give away its constitutional authority over trade. They want Congress to agree to “fast track” authority, which would allow a massive trade agreement with 11 Asian and Latin American countries to be signed before Congress gets to vote on it.

Under “fast track,” the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement could then be railroaded through Congress quickly with no amendments allowed and limited debate.

The TPP is a deal that supersedes U.S. authority with international corporate tribunals, and from the little information the public has been able to access (through Wikileaks), it seems that this is its main purpose — reviving legislation such as SOPA (the Internet surveillance bill), which can’t be passed within the country, and applying it to us internationally.

Congress needs to stand up for U.S. interests against the corporate forces that are engulfing the world. Fast track for TPP must be revoked. The balance of power in our government must be restored and Congressional oversight on trade deals reinstated.

More information about the Trans-Pacific Partnership is available online.

Alex Briggs, Pownal