Last week, as you might have heard, negotiators on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement gathered in Maui to try to finalize the agreement. Many believed that negotiators would more or less finish things up in that meeting. Earlier reports had suggested that everyone was “weeks away” from finishing, and many had said that the only thing holding back a final agreement was fast track authority (officially “trade promotion authority”) from the US government to make sure that the USTR could negotiate an agreement without further interference from Congress. And, as you’ll recall, Congress voted in favor of fast track after a long fight.
Category: Companies
TPP LEAKS SHOWS US STANDS FIRM THAT COMPANIES SHOULD BE FREE TO ABUSE PATENTS & COPYRIGHTS
However, a funny thing happened in Maui: they didn’t reach a final agreement. And it doesn’t sound like negotiators are really that close either — leading many to wonder if the TPP may be running out of time.
Either way, the good folks over at KEI have now started releasing a leaked copy of the “intellectual property chapter” as it stood on May 11th (i.e., the latest draft prior to last week’s meeting). The IP chapter had leaked in the past, but only an older version. KEI called out how the US’s proposals in the TPP are horrible:
WIKILEAKS: US ‘SPIED ON JAPAN GOVERNMENT AND COMPANIES’
Documents released by Wikileaks list 35 telephone numbers targeted for interception by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
The surveillance extends back at least eight years, Wikileaks said.
Wikileaks has previously released files showing the US spied on Germany, France and Brazil – like Japan, all allies.
http://www.infowars.com/wikileaks-us-spied-on-japan-government-and-companies/
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