The Struggle for Transparency in Trade: Why it is an Issue for Ministry
Rev. Pam Lupfer, Hudson River Presbytery
The Doe Run lead smelting plant cuts through the middle of La Oroya. Photo Credit: Pam Lupfer
A few weeks ago I was talking on the phone with a friend I hadn’t seen in a few years and he asked me what I had been up to. I told him I’d been working on a campaign for more transparency and better controls on environmental regulations, human and worker rights, respect for national sovereignty and corporate compliance with national laws in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the biggest free trade agreement ever on the docket. After explaining briefly what the TPP is, he asked me how I got involved in such a struggle.
I told him that three years ago, I was part of a delegation of nine other clergy and laity from Hudson River Presbytery who traveled to Peru on the inaugural trip of our Peru Partnership. We went there to meet our mission partners and learn firsthand about the issues they face. We were familiar with the story of La Oroya as we had spent the previous nine months studying their political and historical context. We were involved because one of our clergy members (Jed Koball) is now the companionship facilitator for Joining Hands in Peru and was sending back reports of his experiences with the people there.
La Oroya, Peru, is a bleak and desolate town, the hills bleached and barren like dead bones; the river appears sick and green with pollution. The Doe Run lead smelting plant dominates the landscape, cutting through the middle of the town, saddling the Rio Montaro. The houses are stacked on top of one another on either side of the river. This was the view we saw as our bus wound through the town. But then we arrived at the office of Filomena Tomairi Pacsi, our Joining Hands Partners there, and were greeted by 15 to 20 children in animal costumes. They had just marched through the town for the Day of the Environment – and passionately and excitedly shared with us why they must speak out about the pollution and lead poisoning in their town. They knew that if it could happen to them, it could happen to anyone and that it shouldn’t be allowed.
As religious and community leaders, we are the ones expected to reach out to help the most vulnerable with food and shelter, and offer compassion when disease strikes and health insurance falls short. Yet what responsibility do we have to prevent these situations from occurring in the first place?
The history of trade agreements tells us that when big corporations and governments broker deals of this magnitude, there is reason to be suspicious. Jobs are exported to parts of the world with more lax environmental laws and labor protections. In other words, “the little guy” and his family will need more of our help. Jesus told us that we should care for “the least of these” and we do a pretty good job with our soup kitchens and feeding programs; but Jesus also railed against unjust institutions and structures that create more poverty and oppression. The scope of the TPP could have far-reaching consequences.
The Rio Montaro polluted by lead. Photo Credit: Pam Lupfer
The lead smelting plant in La Oroya has caused massive environmental destruction and lead poisoning. 98% of the children have unacceptable levels of lead in their blood, but the owners of Doe Run are adding insult to injury through their lawsuit against the Peruvian government for $800 million. This lawsuit--seeking not only recovery of lost profits, but potential lost profits!—has been filed under the under the terms of the Peruvian –American Free Trade Agreement. In this case, the issue is lost income during a plant closure while the government and the company disputed the schedule for the installation of the appropriate pollution controls. These types of lawsuits are proliferating around the world as corporations learn they can recover lost profits and can challenge local environmental and labor regulations, by manipulating free trade agreements. {The cost of litigating these disputes alone can represent more than half of some small countries GDP. *FACT: $800 million is more than the yearly budget of the Peruvian National Ministry of Public Health.}
There are many reasons to be concerned about the way the current negotiations for the TPP are being conducted. Chief among them is secrecy – none of the negotiating documents have been officially released for review. Even our congressional representatives have been unable to get copies, leading freshman representative Mark Pocan to initiate a “Dear Colleague” letter to the ranking member of the House Ways & Means Committee, Sander Levin, and House Leader Nancy Pelosi asking for release of the text of the TPP and expressing concerns about the Fast Track process. Fast Track, a mechanism which expired in 2007, would put the TPP before Congress for an up-or-down vote with no amendments and almost no debate. We were active in urging Presbyterians in the districts of other freshmen representatives to join this effort.
We must also be concerned about the unprecedented scope of this trade agreement. It would be the largest free trade agreement in U.S. history, covering approximately 40% of the global economy and would affect every area of our economy including wages and labor costs, environmental regulations, longer patents on drugs, financial regulations, food safety, farm policies and global food supplies and taxes. We drafted a letter to President Obama urging him to ensure that this agreement – and any other new agreements – include a transparent negotiating and debate process, respect for national sovereignty, as well as corporate compliance with national laws and regulations that protect human rights, the environment and the common good.
We circulated a second letter to Congress asking elected leaders to vote against the Fast Track process “so that we may deal with provisions within the TPP now, rather than bemoan its consequences afterward in the lives of God’s most vulnerable.” In cooperation with the Presbyterian Hunger Program, the Office of Public Witness of the PC(USA), and the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy we circulated these letters and urged Presbyterians to send them to Washington. This coalition also produced two webinars on the TPP.
Watch our Webinar "The Case for Transparency: Shedding Light on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement"
We even had a group of the “frozen chosen” at our Presbytery meeting to sing the song “Transparency in the TPP” and upload it to YouTube. Yes, there is proof that the spirit of’ God’s justice works in marvelous and unexpected ways.
Read the Institute for Policy Studies Report Mining for Profits in International Tribunals to learn more.
