With Congress soon to be under solid Republican control following the mid-term election defeat of Democrats, the Obama administration and GOP leaders on Capitol Hill are reportedly plotting to foist a series of far-reaching “free-trade” deals on the American people. As Big Business and Big Government proponents of the controversial agenda cross party lines to advance the schemes, however, critics of the plan from all across the political spectrum are rallying to stop it. Because moves by lawmakers to grant Obama fast-track or trade-promotion authority could begin as soon as the lame-duck session currently underway, or early in the next Congress, opponents of the dangerous agreements are urging citizens to get involved now.

The U.S. Constitution, of course, grants Congress — not the executive branch — the exclusive power to “regulate Commerce with foreign Nations.” However, advocates of granting Obama wide powers to bypass the American people’s elected representatives in negotiating misnamed “free trade” pacts have been hard at work lobbying lawmakers to grant the president what is known Trade-Promotion Authority (TPA). The idea, being pushed by outfits such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other crony-capitalist forces, is to hand the administration broad authority to create the agreements without input from lawmakers. Then, once the secretly negotiated deals are complete, Congress would be forced to hold a simple up-or-down vote without opportunities to change the content of the schemes.

The two primary sovereignty-crushing “trade” regimes proponents are hoping to foist on America in the near future are the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Both would purport to “harmonize” regulations between the United States and other governments while allowing unaccountable supranational “tribunals” to overrule U.S. courts and.... The TPP, being negotiated right now in secret, brings together a broad range of governments, including Vietnam, a brutal communist dictatorship. The TTIP, meanwhile, would harmonize regulations between the United States and the unaccountable European Union super-state that has already usurped the sovereignty of its own “member states.” Critics from across the political spectrum have warned that both deals represent a major threat to the American people. 

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