corporate-power-grab (Image by Union Solidarity International) Details DMCA | Economist Joseph Stiglitz wrote a letter to Congressional leaders outlining why the global court system, called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), should not be a part of trade deals. Among his important points:
Consider asbestos: If ISDS was in place, Foreign owned companies manufacturing asbestos would have been able to sue the government for imposing new laws attempting to regulate asbestos manufacturing and the US taxpayer would have been asked to pay the firm not to produce the death-inducing product. If there were something wrong with our system of property rights protection, why should it be changed only for foreign firms? If there were something wrong with our system of dispute adjudication, why should that be changed only for foreign firms and only for this particular class of disputes. "? Bottom Line: Congress should only Support Domestic Friendly Trade Deals! |