Image by DonkeyHotey (License CC BY-SA 2.0)
You know what this world needs? More free trade agreements (and the inevitable, intended result: The one world government). Every morning, I wake up, turn on the news, and am so sorely disappointed to see that I am still not living in the United States of Planet Earth. It’s (current year) for goodness sake people! Don’t you want “progress”?
But seriously, the world currently boasts 41 multilateral free trade agreements, and so many bilateral free trade agreements that I cared not to count (I stopped counting at 175). With so many free trade deals on the table, you might be wondering “do we really have room for one more?”
Enter the “Trans Pacific Partnership” (TPP). A free trade deal to end all free trade deals. A free trade deal so big and so mighty that one would believe it were made in Texas (it was actually made in New Zealand). Once ratified, the TPP will be the greatest free trade deal in the history of forever. Well, at least it would have been before Donald Trump became the President of the United States. Despite all the cynical critics claiming that the office of POTUS would “moderate” him, the President made good on his election promise, within days of being inaugurated, and tore up the TPP.
“But hold on Harry… I thought free trade was a good thing?? And Trump is an idiot! I know it’s true because TV and career politicians told me so!”
Oh my poor brothers… As always, there is so much more than meets the eye. On the one hand, we have those very same career politicians, such as Australia’s own Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull applauding the TPP because it will “create jobs” (because, you know, he has such a great record creating jobs). On the other hand, we have President Trump and his posse of loyal blue-collars celebrating its demise, because it would have “taken away American jobs.”
“This TPP rubbish is just another gift-wrapped turd. It’s a money grabbing scam for those at the top.”
Free trade… No free trade… The cheerleaders on both sides of this argument are claiming that they are helping their nations and helping to create jobs. Who the hell are we supposed to listen to? Does anyone even know what’s going on anymore? It’s no wonder trust in the current political establishment is at an all time low when they feel as though they can say anything (and I mean literally anything) they please and expect us to follow. The TPP is yet another one of those instances where the will of the people is being ignored so that governments may feed that insatiable monster called crony capitalism.
What I find most interesting about the TPP, are not all the nations who have joined, but who hasn’t joined.
What is the TPP?…
The TPP originally began as the “Transpacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement” (TPSEP). It was a multilateral free trade deal between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore, who subsequently became known as the “Pacific 4” (P4). After their FTA deal came in to effect in 2006, other nations expressed their desire to join, and before long, the P4 became the “P12” with the addition of Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, The United States, and Vietnam.
The official reason behind the TPP (as is the official reason behind all free trade deals), is to create a larger market place to do business. A larger market place means more consumers. More consumers means more is produced, which means more jobs, which means more money for everyone, and everyone wins!
Well… That’s the “official” story, at least.
But there is one question. One very important question which has been nagging me for quite some time… If the trans pacific partnership is an offer that is too good to refuse, then why did the People’s Republic of China refuse?
What is the TPP REALLY? (Rant)…
Short answer: It’s a way for the rich to get richer. THAT’S IT. Let’s be brutally honest. This TPP rubbish is just another gift-wrapped turd. It’s a money grabbing scam for those at the top. It has been sold to us as a miracle from the hand of Economy-God himself, so that we plebeians on the bottom (who incidentally are the very bricks and mortar of the economy) may find it more palatable, as we are being told, and lied to, that we will share in the economic growth.
Whenever our fearless leaders want to sell us a load of garbage like a new tax, budget cut, or a new trade deal, they use the same dirty marketing and sales techniques that the slimiest time-share or car salesman uses. DO NOT be fooled by their sweet words and the “too good to refuse” marketing strategies being employed. People spend years at university just to learn these skills. Don’t ever think that they are not being used against you.
Jobs and Growth…
“Jobs and Growth”… That was the slogan (more like a shopping list) that the Turnbull government used when handing down the 2016 budget. So did he deliver on his promise? Allow me to tear a new one into a man I seriously detest… Consider the fact that Turnbull’s “solution” to unemployment and getting people back to work was to slash and burn welfare benefits. This ended up forcing unemployed people to find work in a “sink or swim” situation (a move which turned out to be ineffective, as Australia’s unemployment rate currently stands at a 6 month high of 5.8%).
Also, consider the fact that for years, even as opposition leader, the only idea Turnbull had to raise revenue and fix the budget black hole was to increase taxes on cigarettes… Does this sound like a man you can trust to deliver “jobs and growth?” Does this sound like a man whose opinion is even worth listening to with regards to the world’s largest free trade agreement? Of course, the answer is NO.
But Turnbull isn’t the only cheerleader for the TPP who should justifiably be ignored. Across the Pacific Ocean, President Obama was the only president in U.S. history who has never delivered even a single year of +3% GDP growth. So when these two buffoons start talking about the “benefits” of free trade and all the jobs it will create, I suggest that you receive it with a lot of healthy skepticism. Believe at your own risk.
If you would check out the comments on my last article, it’s painfully obvious what the Australian people want: We want more protectionist policies. We want to keep manufacturing jobs right here at home. We are confident in our ability to be self-sufficient. But alas, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has a different opinion on the intelligence and capabilities of his constituents and fellow countrymen.
That Chinese Attitude…
Regardless of what you may think of the People’s Republic and the Chinese people, you must admit that they are very clever. When entering into a trade deal, the Chinese always make sure it is on their terms. They do not enter into an agreement unless they are in control.
China currently boasts over 150,000 “State Owned Enterprises” (SOE’s). What this means is, when you’re doing business with Chinese companies, you’re doing business with the Chinese State. The SOE’s of China are given all kinds of assistance from subsidies to lower interest rates on loans, creating a situation where our domestic companies simply cannot compete against the Chinese, and so the inevitable result is that we end up importing Chinese goods.
China uses this system to always ensure that their own domestic manufacturing jobs are secured and created. The terms of the TPP did not allow companies to receive any unfair advantage from their respective nations, however it did allow companies to sue foreign governments if they enact legislation which “harms their investments,” so of course, being in a position of so little control, China was not willing to play.
You have to have a grudging respect for the Chinese. We are being shanked in our FTA with them, however they are putting their own people first, just as governments should… They are definitely winning this economic war, so is it any wonder that President Trump is entering a so-called “trade war” with China?
Free trade agreements definitely have their place in the world… If used correctly. Giving businesses free reign to do as they please in an FTA, with little to no accountability, is a recipe for disaster, as they are only interested in their own profits. Outsourcing of labour, crowding out smaller businesses, exploiting lax labour laws in foreign countries, and reduced tax revenue, are all the result of our FTAs, because we never approached them with that Chinese attitude… We never had that winners mind set, where we planned how we could best exploit the agreement to benefit our own people. While the Chinese were ensuring the future of their own industries, we were only thinking of all the cheap TVs and refrigerators we could now buy.
No wonder we got shanked…
Harrison Stamoudis is a freelance writer from Melbourne, Australia. After a lifetime of being praised for his intellect and being told “you can do anything you want”, he was doomed to grow up without guidance and direction (it’s difficult to pick a door when they are all open for you). Aimlessly wandered from one job to the next, he struggled to pick a path and stick to it. Harrison often had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet and the work history list on his resume is a little longer than he cares to mention. Harrison is currently in the process of completing higher education (for a third time) so that he may make his next major career change, this time civil engineering.
