Marchers on Capitol Hill stand against TAA bill critical to TPP fast-track

On the 15th of June, protesters from a number of groups marched on Capitol Hill, demanding NO COMPROMISE on the TAA "Trade Assistance Authority" bill without which passage of TPP/TTIP/TISA fast track is considered impossible. Both Flush the TPP and Feminist Majority Foundation were well represented. Not long after, the vote on TAA was put off to an unspecified time between now and July 30 in an attempt to keep the deal alive. This was because Boehner now fears that an actual vote will be a no vote, ending almost any chance that the TPP trade deal will be finished or ratified while Obama remains in office.

Popular Resistance Youtube video of the march

Support for the TPP and thus for Obama's "Asian Pivot" seems to be imploding. Weeks ago the strategy was to fast-track the vote on fast-track in a failed attempt to keep ahead of rapidly growing public opposition. Now they want delay, hoping to bring the bill up at some hurredly chosen moment, no doubt after bags of US Chamber of Commerce money have worked their magic and while key members of Congress are away.

Not long ago, TPP supporters claimed they needed to vote for fast-track and thus the TPP before "a wave of opposition could sweep it away." They failed and the wave has struck. Labor activists know the history of NAFTA and all the other "SHAFTA" trade deals. This has been a history of offshoring, job export, and ghost towns emptied by plant closings. As a result, the AFL-CIO is fighting with no quarter asked and none given. The TAA bill is a bill to attempt to reduce unemployment caused by "free" trade. Normally labor activists would support such a bill, but not when the price of winning a minor battle is losing the whole war. A vote for TAA is a vote for fast-track, and a vote for fast-track is a vote for the TPP itself. Labor activists know that and are working aggressively to defeat TAA as a result.