{"id":4891,"date":"2012-08-08T14:31:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-08T18:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/?p=4891"},"modified":"2012-08-10T15:20:22","modified_gmt":"2012-08-10T19:20:22","slug":"register-to-help-drag","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citizenstrade.org\/ctc\/blog\/2012\/08\/08\/register-to-help-drag\/","title":{"rendered":"Register to Help Drag the TPP Out of the Shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"
NO BACK-ROOM DEALS FOR THE 1%! \u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n

Help Drag the TPP Out of the Shadows<\/strong><\/h1>\n
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: \u00a0Wednesday, August 15<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a>Trade negotiators and corporate lobbyists from the United States and throughout the Pacific Rim will be meeting at a fancy resort outside of Washington, DC from September 6 to 15 to advance the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement \u2014 an international corporate power grab that would affect the economy, the environment, public health and democracy itself for decades to come.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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U.S. negotiators have granted approximately 600 corporate lobbyists access to the negotiating texts, but have flatly refused to tell the public what they have been proposing in our names. \u00a0In fact, they don’t intend to tell us what they’ve been working on after the deal is signed and completed \u2014 at which point it is virtually impossible to make any substantive changes.<\/div>\n
Hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world have already called on our trade representatives to release the texts through emails, letters and petitions. \u00a0 We need your help on Sunday, September 9 in Leesburg, Virginia to bring our demands to them in person.<\/div>\n
How to Get Involved<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
We need you to join us for a rally in Leesburg<\/a>, Virginia on Sunday, September 9 at 3:00 pm \u2014 and we’re asking you and your friends to\u00a0please pre-register as an “official stakeholder” with\u00a0the U.S. Trade Representative<\/a>\u00a0so that you can gain legal access to the building where the negotiations are taking place.\u00a0\u00a0That way, in addition to attending our rally outside, you can also go inside the building to personally deliver our message to TPP officials.\u00a0 Registration is a simple two-step process:<\/div>\n
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(1) \u00a0Register with the U.S. Trade Representative online right now.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0The registration form is very short and only takes a minute. \u00a0(Feel free to put “private citizen” in the lines for title, organization and employer if you’re not representing a group, and to answer \u201cno\u201d regarding tabling and presenting.) \u00a0The final deadline for registering is 5:00pm on Wednesday, August 15 \u2014 so please register now, even if you’re unsure whether you can ultimately participate.<\/div>\n
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(2) \u00a0Let us know you’ve registered through this online form.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0\u00a0We’ll use the information you provide to help with carpooling, printing up t-shirts and sending you reminder messages and other action items. \u00a0(You won’t be added to any long-term lists.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Labor, environmental, consumer, family farm and other social justice organizations will be holding a rally<\/a> outside of the negotiations on Sunday, September 9 at 3:00pm. Registering with USTR will get you credentials that allow you legally join us\u00a0inside<\/em>\u00a0and present our demands to TPP negotiators face-to-face. \u00a0This is crucial to making sure we are heard. \u00a0Please register now!<\/div>\n
Background: What Is the TPP?<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n
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The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>is poised to become the largest Free Trade Agreement in U.S. history. \u00a0The massive trade and investment pact is currently being negotiated behind-closed-doors between the United States and countries throughout the Pacific Rim. \u00a0TPP countries currently include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, but the TPP is also intended as a “docking agreement” that all Pacific Rim nations will join over time.Powerful corporate interests want to use the TPP to:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n