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New Zealand's Trade Minister Admits They Keep TPP Documents Secret

Discussion in 'Political Debate & Discussion' started by poncho, Dec 7, 2014.

  1. poncho

    poncho Well-Known Member

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    New Zealand's Trade Minister Admits They Keep TPP Documents Secret To Avoid 'Public Debate'

    from the who's-ill-informed? dept

    A couple years ago, then US Trade Representative Ron Kirk explained why the negotiating text of trade agreements like the TPP needed to be kept secret: because if the public debated it, the agreement probably wouldn't be approved. He used, as an example, a failed trade agreement where the text had been public. Beyond the "small sample size" problem of this explanation, the much more troubling aspect is the obvious question of recognizing that if public debate would kill the agreement, perhaps it's the agreement that's the problem and not the public.

    Apparently, New Zealand's current Trade Minister, Tim Groser, feels similar to Kirk on this issue. During a question and answer period, he was asked why he won't share the draft texts with, say, medical professionals for input, given that the current leaks suggest it would be a disaster for public health. Groser's answer is quite telling, in that he admits that he fears the public debate, because it would be "misinformed."

    Continue . . .https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141030/16291028989/new-zealands-trade-minister-admits-they-keep-tpp-documents-secret-to-avoid-public-debate.shtml

    "Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage, and basically, you know, call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass," Jonathan Gruber said at the Annual Health Economics Conference.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/news/affordable-care-act-architect-on-camera-bashing-american-voters/
     
    #1 poncho, Dec 7, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 7, 2014
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