Why Singapore PM Lee is so concerned about TPP?

I happened to read about an article on TPP posted on TOC (The Online Citizen) website
but I found it has misrepresented some of the things on TPP. I have written the following in response on my Facebook:

There are some erroneous or inaccuracies written in this TOC article. Apparently, it is not written by someone who is well verse in Economics.

First of all, TPP is not just about Trade. It is about Free Market Globalization. i.e. Besides the free trade of goods and services, it also includes free mobility of capital as well as labour.

The reason of "Protectionism" vs such Free Market Globalization is not only because it protects companies and their products, but it also protects its wages for the labour as well as certain sovereignty issues in prevention of critical assets of a country being acquired by foreign countries.

While the article is right to say that most of the time, it is the more well off countries which will resist such agreements, but there are also costs to poorer countries. For example, there is "Economic Colonization"; i.e. all critical resources would be exploited or plundered by the richer countries.

As for wages, it is not a guarantee that workers will benefit from TPP just because companies can sell to a larger market or consumer base. In fact, more likely so, workers will be exploited by wage suppression as they could be replaced by a larger and cheaper source of workers among the countries. i.e. supply of workers suddenly increased many thousand folds. This is actually what is happening right now in Singapore.

Moreover, bigger companies benefit the most as compared to the local companies. All these will result in great wealth and income disparity. i.e. Big companies shareholders will be richer while workers suffered lower wages.

There is also an issue of structural immobility. In Keynesian Economics concept, Free market is good as the invisible hands will solve everything. But the truth is, this doesn't take into considerations of many things. Product life cycle is becoming shorter and thus, we see a lot of structural displacement of skilled workers who will suddenly find themselves irrelevant. Talking about re-training and restructuring is easy but execution will be difficult.

The only reason why Singapore needs TPP badly is due to the fact that it is a small open economy without much agricultural sector. Not even much organic industrial sector to start with. We all depend on MNCs and GLCs. MNCs needs mobility of funds. GLCs and our sovereign funds like Temasek and GIC, needed ease of mobility of capital to effect greater returns with less cost in capital investment. These are the main REAL benefits for Singapore.

Small and Medium companies may benefit from bigger market but the truth is, as stated in the article itself, we already have quite a lot of FTAs with most of the individual countries listed in TPP!

But the cost to us, Singaporeans, in return for GIC, Temasek and all those big GLCs to have more investment opportunities, is continued suppression of our wages. Income and wealth disparity will continue to be widen and only those ruling elites and their cronies in these GLCs will earn higher exorbitant bonuses and salaries.

On top of that, as the article says, we will face HIGHER cost of medicines with the elimination of generic drugs.

BTW, when Japan can sell more cars to USA, it doesn't need to use our port facilities. That's utterly wrong to say that. They could well ship direct to US across the pacific. (For anyone who want to doubt me on this point, please refer to this website on a freight forwarding shipping company specialized in car-cargo transhipment)

In short, the reason why our PM Lee is so concerned about TPP is not about Singaporeans'  well being; in fact, TPP will make most Singaporeans worse off, with bigger wage suppression from a larger pool of foreign labour from the Third and First World countries. Singaporeans will face higher healthcare cost and we will face a deepening of income and wealth disparity in Singapore.

The only reason why PAP wanted TPP so badly is because TPP could enhance its GLCs, Temasek Holdings and GIC investment opportunities overseas. We have seen this in CECA which we have signed with India in which we promised easy access and migration for Indians to come to Singapore and work, in return for investment opportunities in Indian's financial industry and such.

This will only help to enhance the ever rising salaries and bonuses of the top management of these entities, the elite cronies of PAP.

These are the crux of the matter, not so much about "free trade" alone, lest about jobs creation for Singaporeans.

Goh Meng Seng

What is Trans Pacific Partnership all about?

PAP government has signed the TPP agreement on 4 Feb 2016 WITHOUT any Public Consultation NOR public debates at all.

There is not even parliamentary debate over this important issue and our only labour union NTUC has been acting Deaf, Blind, Mute and Dumb - Hear no Evil, See no Evil, Say no Evil and Think no Evil!

To understand the flaws of TPP, you can lick on the following:

TPP in 10 cards

I shall extract out two parts of which I am deadly concerned about:

The following information is on how TPP could compromise our sovereignty, in effect, selling away our sovereignty to huge MNCs which will dictate on what our laws can and cannot be.

What's ISDS, and why is Elizabeth Warren so upset about it?

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is one of the TPP's most prominent critics, and her campaign against the deal has focused on an otherwise obscure provision called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). The goal — to mediate disputes between a government and foreign investors — might sound innocuous. But Warren warns that ISDS poses a threat to American sovereignty and could inhibit robust regulation of industries such as banking.

ISDS rules are designed to address a real problem. Suppose an investor from one country spends money building a factory in another country. Then a new government comes to power there and nationalizes the factory. That's unfair to the investor, and in the long run it's likely to be bad for the country with the factory as well. ISDS is an arbitration process that uses trade sanctions to pressure governments to compensate investors whose property is seized.

Obviously, the United States has a robust legal system that doesn't allow this kind of naked expropriation. Nevertheless, the TPP is expected to allow foreign investors to make ISDS complaints against the United States. And Warren argues that could "tilt the playing field in the United States further in favor of big multinational corporations" in a way that would "undermine US sovereignty."

TPP opponents worry that foreign companies could argue that the way America regulates banks, the minimum wage, or the environment constitutes an unjust taking of their property. If an ISDS panel agrees, the United States could be on the hook for millions of dollars in damages.

There are two aspects of ISDS that have raised particular concern. One is the fact that, as with most trade dispute settlement panels, the process is overseen by arbitrators rather than independent judges. Warren worries these arbitrators, who may also represent corporate clients in other cases, will cause panels to be biased toward big companies.

Second, while the ordinary WTO dispute settlement process only allows complaints by governments, ISDS allows any foreign investor to complain. Critics say that removes an important check on misuse of the dispute settlement process.

Defenders of ISDS say Warren's concerns are overblown. The White House notes that there are about 3,000 trade deals around the world with ISDS provisions, including about 50 that involve the United States. According to the Obama administration, the US has only faced 13 ISDS cases under those treaties, and has never lost a case. The White House also says the ISDS provisions in the TPP will have stronger safeguards against abuse than those in previous treaties.

And it's important to note that ISDS can't actually force countries to change their laws or regulations. The most an ISDS panel can do is impose a financial penalty.

The next part deals with drug patents and how TPP will compromise our Healthcare Cost by giving extensive power to huge Pharmaceutical Companies.

The problem with drug patents in TPP is much more devilish than I initially thought.

It prevented Generic drugs from being available as there are clauses that set the barriers to it, even AFTER the patent expires.

For biologics, it applies the barriers HIGHER and for other drugs, it allows the original patent holders to just TWEAK the formula and thus, extending the patent longer.... ever green extension of patents forever!

Why are some public health groups opposing the TPP?

Public health groups such as Doctors Without Borders and the AIDS research group amfAR have warned that the TPP could delay the introduction of generic drugs, boosting drug prices and ultimately costing lives. Here's how that could happen.

Laws in the US and around the world grant patents and other legal privileges to the first company to invent a new drug — a reward to encourage research and development. After these legal protections expire, other companies can make cheap generic versions of the drugs.

Of course, big pharmaceutical companies hate this competition. So they've lobbied for the TPP to include rules delaying the introduction of generic drugs into the market.

For example, one proposal would expand the types of inventions that are eligible for patent protection to include modifications of existing drugs. Critics say this would make it easier for drug companies to engage in "evergreening," a process where drug companies make minor modifications to their products in order to extend the effective length of patent protection.

The TPP requires governments to extend the term of patent protection if the patent office processes a patent application too slowly, or if regulators delay approval of a pharmaceutical patent.

Another provision concerns complex drugs called biologics. Before these drugs can be introduced to the market, the Food and Drug administration requires drugmakers to prove they are safe and effective. Often, data from one drug's clinical trials is useful to other companies wanting to introduce competing, biologically similar drugs. But a controversial US law requires competing drug manufacturers to wait 12 years before they can use this data in their own applications. That makes it harder for generic drugmakers to get into the market, raising prices.

The Obama administration reportedly pushed for language requiring that all countries adopt a similar 12-year requirement. That was surprising because Obama's own 2016 budget suggested reducing the exclusivity period to seven years. Ultimately, US negotiators didn't get what they wanted; the final text of the TPP requires countries to provide five to eight years of data exclusivity for biologic drugs.

In short, the TPP can be expected to reduce competition and therefore raise the prices of drugs in some TPP countries. The deal probably won't have much effect in the US, where biologics already receive 12 years of protection and the law is relatively friendly to evergreen patents, but it will have a bigger impact in other TPP countries.

Singaporeans have to get themselves more involved and concerned about this implementation of TPP as there is absolutely NO ESCAPE Clause once it is signed and ratified by parliament.

PAP government did not put up the full text for public information and scrutiny, most probably for fear of massive objections.

If you want to know the exact text of TPP which Singapore is one of the signatory countries, you may not find the details in any Singapore portal. Countries who signed this pact are supposed to put up information for public debates so to get consensus and parliamentary ratification but PAP didn't even want to talk about it, lest hold any public debate or consultation.

You could find the exact text and details from New Zealand government website. Only more responsible government will be transparent and open about their dealings, instead of hiding in Such black box operations

You can find the Full text in the following link to New Zealand government website:

http://www.tpp.mfat.govt.nz/text


Now you would understand why massive people around the world would march and protest against TPP or its similar agreement which was imposed on the European Unions.

This so call trade pack is not merely a simple trade pack but a whole list of legislation which will sell off our rights to cheaper Healthcare and our Sovereignty. It will not only affect us alone but for ALL our future generations.

It is up to Singaporeans to get themselves information on all these important trade agreements being signed QUIETLY away, selling our future to the big corporations of the world. Go to your MPs and demand an explanation or lodge your complains against TPP. Do it and put pressure on PAP to think twice about ratifying this TPP.

Goh Meng Seng