(Portland, Ore.)—March 25, 2015 A new radio advertisement will begin to run in Oregon today with the goal of educating voters about the consequences of a “Fast Tracked” Trans-Pacific Partnership, and to put pressure onto Senator Wyden to stand against Fast Track. The advertisement explains that under the Trans-Pacific Partnership, dangerous chemicals could become more common in imported food items.
Advocates for food safety are concerned that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will stretch our country’s capacity for food inspection too far and in turn increase the level of unsafe food in the United States’ marketplace. An additional concern is the potential lowering of food standards under the Trans-Pacific Partnership through a process called ‘harmonization’ where standards from participating countries are brought to the same level – even if some countries, like the United States, have much higher standards than other countries in the trade agreement.
The radio advertisement is part of a coordinated effort between local and national unions, fair trade advocates and environmental organizations to stop the Trans-Pacific Partnership from being pushed through Congress using Fast Track Trade Promotion Authority. Fast Track would only need a majority vote to pass, as opposed to a super majority, and would only require a simple “yes or no” vote on a 2,000-page trade agreement that involves twelve nations, including the United States, Japan, and Vietnam.
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