Following the release of full text of trade agreement, Patagonia, the outdoor gear retailer, has reinforced its stand against the agreement. In a statement released on the company’s blog www.thecleanestline.com, Rose Marcario, CEO, Patagonia has elaborated on the company’s stand.
‘The proposed trade agreement between the US and 11 other Pacific Rim nations, crafted behind closed doors over a five-year period, may indeed cut tariffs, increase trade and build closer economic and regulatory relationships among its signatories, as its proponents say. But it will also weaken worldwide labour standards, harm the global environment, diminish regulatory safeguards and enable corporations and individuals that already have far too much influence gain even more at the expense of everyone else,’ avers Rose through the blog.
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Citing a six-point rationale regarding why Patagonia opposes the TPP deal, Rose concludes that the costs for the environment, workers, consumers, communities and small businesses would outweigh any potential gains. The reasons stated are the lack of transparency during the development of the trade agreement and hence skewed interests of the trade deal itself.
Moreover, although the trade deal prescribes adherence to labour standards but offers no new requirements for countries to enforce such standards among suppliers. TPP promotes domestic exportation of liquefied natural gas, encouraging even more fracking here at home and expanding the use of climate-changing fossil fuels worldwide at the expense of renewable energy. Other reasons cited include threat to food safety, failure to protect wildlife and provide legal protection in incidents of Investor-State Dispute Settlement.
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