Marylanders Rally For Fair Trade

On a freezing Friday in February, dozens gathered in Rockville, Maryland in an effort to convince their Representative in Congress to oppose fast-tracking a bad trade deal.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is currently being brokered between the U.S. and 11 other nations behind closed doors, without any public input.

The lack of transparency around this trade deal is shocking, considering the way it could affect our everyday lives. Past deals we’ve signed like this, including the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, have taken away hundreds of thousands of American jobs and undermined safeguards on clean air and water. The TPP would be more of the same, but at a much larger scale since it ecompasses so many nations.

And, worse still, some members of Congress are trying to pass “fast track” legislation, which would push the deal through Congress quickly, and without protections for communities, workers, and the environment. With fast track, Congress would be unable to ensure that trade pacts like the TPP protect our air, water, and land.

Our jobs, the safety of our neighborhoods, and the clean air we breathe are up for grabs if this deal is fast tracked. So, Marylanders spoke up, urging their Members of Congress including Rep. Chris Van Hollen to stand with them and oppose fast track.

Among those that addressed the crowd were Karen Hanson-Kuhn of the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy, who spoke about the effect fast tracking the TPP would have on the food industry. In her speech, she stated that the TPP could eliminate food labels, cause food insecurity, inequality for small, local farmers, and endanger food sovereignty.

Stan Boyd, a Sierra Club member from Maryland, took the stage and emphasized what the Sierra Club has been saying nationally -- to support the environment is to oppose fast tracking the TPP.

David Mott, who works with the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, reminded us about the history of trade deals like NAFTA that have taken away American jobs and sent them overseas, reduced wages, and discouraged the formation of unions.

Finally, Jorge Aguilar, an expert on food safety issues at Food and Water Watch, focused on the fact that all the negotiations are going on behind closed doors. He noted that provisions in the TPP would give corporations the unrestrained power to sue governments in secret trade courts, which could undo clean air and water protections, limit access to medicine, and undermine our democracy.

At the end of our rally, activists delivered a “care package” to Rep. Van Hollen -- because who doesn’t like presents? The package included information about fast track and the TPP which reiterated the points both the speakers and ralliers were trying to make.

What was most incredible about this event was the fact that experts from all different focuses -- from food and farm to labor and the environment -- came together with the same purpose: to highlight why opposing fast track is the best thing for Maryland.  

The Sierra Club and our allies will continue our work in Maryland and across the nation calling on Members of Congress to stand for workers, communities, the environment, and their constituents to oppose fast track.