deprives State and local governments of sorely needed revenues
and jeopardizes the livelihoods of millions of public servants
as well as construction workers whose jobs depend upon
infrastructure building, repair and maintenance; and
WHEREAS, Under NAFTA-style trade rules, the annual trade
deficit of the United States has increased dramatically from $70
billion in 1993, the year before NAFTA went into effect, to more
than $508 billion in 2014; and
WHEREAS, NAFTA and all but two of the United States trade
agreements that followed include a provision containing special
legal rights for foreign investors, known as an "investor-state
dispute settlement," which allows foreign firms to bypass
Federal and State courts to challenge State and local laws,
regulations and administrative and judicial decisions in
international tribunals; and
WHEREAS, The Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement
(TPP) is likely to include provisions locking in monopoly
protection for expensive specialty drugs called biologics and
constricting the government's ability to limit spending on
drugs, potentially increasing drug costs for governmental
entities and all Americans; and
WHEREAS, The TPP has been negotiated in secret, effectively
curtailing input from State and local governments regarding the
effect of trade policies on the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and
limiting the ability of Commonwealth residents to participate in
and influence the negotiating process; and
WHEREAS, Given the nature of fast-track trade authority
regarding the TPP, states and localities and their residents
have no opportunity to correct the shortcomings and improve the
language of the TPP because the final text of the agreement has
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