Max Baucus, Democrat and chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance (left) and Orrin Hatch, the ranking Republican of the committe (right) in Washington.
Part 3; Draft texts for the agreement are kept under the covers
Takanori Okabe
Some congressmen and their assistants have access to the draft of the text being negotiated in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The delegation of Japanese anti-TPP lawmakers was shocked on Tuesday, April 23, the second day of its visit to the United States, when the group heard this from an assistant to U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a long-serving Republican. Delegation members were shocked to know that the negotiating texts are actually made available to some U.S. policymakers, although the TPP participants were said to have signed a confidentiality agreement at the outset of the negotiations which states that the draft of the agreement should not be disclosed until the agreement is reached, and that the negotiating documents, including proposals of each government, should be held in confidence for four years after the TPP agreement’s entry into force.
The delegation then researched on the conditions for gaining access to the draft texts. They learned from sources in Congress that members of Congress can see a copy of the negotiating text if they obtain the necessary security clearance – a status granted to an individual allowing them access to classified information – and go into a private room in the United States Trade Representative to read it, but are not allowed to take the text outside, take notes or take pictures. Moreover, the texts available to them are limited to their areas of expertise, the areas dealt with in the committees they are assigned to for example.
Meanwhile, some influential congress members, such as Max Baucus, Democrat and chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance which is in charge of trade policies including the TPP talks, Orrin Hatch, the ranking Republican of the committee, Dave Camp, Republican and chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means and Sander Levin, the ranking Democrat of the committee, as well as their assistants, are exceptionally allowed to see the negotiating documents covering all areas and even take the copies outside, some sources said.
An assistant to one congressman even said that any member of Congress can see the texts, but on the other hand, many in Congress said they never had a chance to see the documents, voicing concerns over the confidentiality of the TPP negotiations.
Judging from what they have learned, a delegation member said, “I guess the U.S. government does not actively inform congressmen of the fact that they have access to the draft texts, and requires them to go through complicated procedures to actually see the texts.”
The U.S. government is said to be allowing major U.S. corporations and industry-groups full access to the text as it is being negotiated so they can comment and suggest amendments on the government’s negotiating policies. Such companies and industry groups are famous for accepting many former USTR officials as lobbyists, a phenomenon known as the “revolving door.” It gives a clear picture of the TPP agreement being shaped by an exclusive cooperation among influential congressmen, the USTR and special interest companies, through keeping all the information in themselves. If Japan is to join the TPP talks, how the Japanese government will ensure disclosure of information on the negotiations will become a matter of serious concern.
(May 15, 2013)