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The NYT Furious Over Trump Killing TPP |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| On his first Monday in office, Trump fulfilled his campaign pledge to
kill TPP, his memorandum saying future trade deals will be negotiated one-on-one
with individual countries. He’s off to a good start in saving US jobs, his action and whatever follows hopefully helping to staunch their offshoring - transforming America into a nation of low-paid service workers, its manufacturing base largely abroad. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” he said, calling pulling out of TPP a “great thing for the American worker” and US manufacturing. Union leaders he met with on Monday applauded his move. AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka issued the following statement, saying: “Last year, a powerful coalition of labor, environmental, consumer, public health and allied groups came together to stop the TPP. Today's announcement that the US is withdrawing from TPP and seeking a reopening of NAFTA is an important first step toward a trade policy that works for working people.” “While these are necessary actions, they aren’t enough. They are just the first in a series of necessary policy changes required to build a fair and just global economy.” “We will continue our relentless campaign to create new trade and economic rules that end special privileges for foreign investors and Big Pharma, protect our planet’s precious natural resources and ensure fair pay, safe conditions and a voice in the workplace for all workers.” The New York Times supports pro-business, anti-democratic, anti-consumer, anti-labor, anti-ecosanity trade deals - along with endorsing all US imperial wars, silent on their mass slaughter and destruction, other than blaming victims for crimes committed against them. During the great debate over NAFTA, it effusively praised what cost over a million US jobs, claiming ones “lost to cheaper Mexican labor…would be gained because American exports would increase as Mexico’s high tariffs gradually disappeared” - a Big Lie. Times editors endorsed TPP throughout long drawn out talks, turning truth on its head, saying America’s relations with Asian countries would be strengthened. The Electronic Freedom Foundation blasted its endorsement, calling it “an act of extraordinary subservience” to monied interests at the expense of American workers. Last November, Times editors said abandoning TPP “would empower China.” It was mainly concerned about Obama not getting his key economic scheme adopted, along with monied interests failing to achieve what they’ve long sought. In response to Trump killing TPP, The Times accused him of “upend(ing) America’s traditional, bipartisan trade policy” - ignoring its enormous harm since NAFTA’s adoption. Instead it said “he demonstrated that he would not follow old rules, effectively discarding longstanding Republican orthodoxy that expanding global trade was good for the world and America - and that the United States should help write the rules of international commerce.” Nothing said about jobs destruction, shifting America’s manufacturing base abroad. Nothing about TPP constituting destructive NAFTA on steroids. Nothing about letting corporate interests override domestic law for greater profit-making. Nothing about TPP’s anti-consumer, anti-labor, anti-environmental provisions. The Times is a house organ for wealth, power and privileged interests, consistently against peace, equity and justice for all. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |
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