Murphy Sings for Transparency in Trade
Alexa Smith, Presbyterian Hunger Program
Cathy Murphy uses her gifts to lead worship at the Together for Justice International Gathering in 2012.
If she had to pick a favorite quote, Cathy Murphy would go with that old Emma Goldman line: “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.”
That’s fine with Murphy, a children's music therapist in St. Paul, MN, and a longtime peace activist with a faith-based streak that has grown out of the merger of Catholic social witness instruction from childhood and an adult life spent in social justice work inside the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
So when she started educating in Twin Cities Presbytery to oppose the secrecy surrounding the pending Trans-Pacific Partnership, the largest free trade deal in U.S. history, it only made sense that she’d write a song, “Transparency in the TPP.” The number fits right into the church choir lexicon because it is sung to the tune of “Oh When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Check out the lyrics here. The verses call for public details of the agreement, transparency in the process and real skepticism about the corporate presence in the process – 600 corporate advisers, they say -- in a process that excludes citizen input and potentially open debate that permits amendments to the document in the Congress.
Presbyterians are beginning to upload YouTube videos of the song, followed by the tagline … “Just another Presbyterian for trade reform,” or “Just another Presbyterian choir for trade reform.” For information on how to create and share your own rendition of the song, visit the Trade Reform Website. At the conclusion of each video, add a sentence that is specific to you. ‘I’m Janie Jones in Little Rock … just another Presbyterian for Trade Reform.’ Or, ‘This is the First Presbyterian Church Choir in Santa Fe … more Presbyterians for trade reform.’”
“I’m not against trade,” says Murphy, speaking of the TPP, which has been under negotiation since 2008, and, if leaked documents are any indication, sets new rules for everything from the costs of medicine to food safety, according to Public Citizen, a D.C.-based advocacy group that monitors global commerce.
“But it is the lack of transparency here. It is a huge assault on our democratic process,” says Murphy.
Only five of the TPP’s 29 chapters cover trade matters, like tariffs or quotas. The other 24 impose nontrade policies, which might require that existing and future American laws, such as environmental and food safety, be altered to conform with these terms, or trade sanctions could be imposed against American exports, Public Citizen’s trade monitoring Lori Wallach contends.
Not only has the agreement been negotiated quietly, but the Obama administration apparently wants to fast-track the document, signing the agreement before Congress even votes. Congress’ vote, then, would not allow any amendments, limit debate and permit only a “yes or no” tally.
“This is serious work, but it doesn’t have to always be so serious,” says Murphy, who is a fan of the new Expose the TPP website, which touts creative ways to call attention to a trade agreement that is only now getting increasing press.
Murphy says she began writing songs for the kids in a public school program years ago where she was the resident music therapist; each child got a song written specifically for him or her, accompanied on a piano, a guitar or a harp. Nowadays, she’s toting an acoustic guitar, which she is quick to say, is much easier than a piano.
The Joining Hands Initiative of the Presbyterian Hunger Program was drawn into the trade debate when several transnational companies got into disputes in two different Latin American countries about the regulation of mining-related projects that were linked to public health controversies. The tribunal process – where such suits are arbitrated -- is embedded in the investor protection clauses of most US trade agreements, including CAFTA and the Peru-US agreement, and, while not secretive, is extremely discreet.
PHP partners in Peru launched a campaign, No Greater Rights, as a response to the arbitration process in the TPP, and partners in El Salvador are monitoring another suit under way there.
Learn more by watching the Webinar The Case for Transparency: Shedding Light on the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Read the Institute for Policy Studies Report Mining for Profits in International Tribunals
