To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate

Stop TISA, the secret privatization pact that poses a threat to democracy and our climate

We demand that you publicly state your opposition to TISA, the Trade in Services Agreement. This agreement is a threat to democracy, our climate and the independence of nation-states.

Why is this important?

Fair Trade activists have been excited about our apparent victory in stopping TPP, but there are more battles ahead.

Perhaps the most insidious is TISA, the secret privatization pact that poses a threat to democracy.

TISA stands for Trade in Service Agreement. and like the TPP, TISA is being negotiated in secret, even though it could have a major impact on countries that sign on.

According to Global justice Now, "The Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) is a proposed international trade treaty between 23 Parties, including the European Union and the United States.

"Unlike most trade deals, TISA is about services, not goods. This means that it has serious consequences for things that have little to do with trade, affecting areas like labour rights, banking regulation and whether public services like electricity and water are run for the benefit of the people or by profit-making multinational companies.

"Five reasons to oppose TISA

"It could lock in privatisation of public services. TISA contains mechanisms, such as ‘ratchet’and ‘standstill’ clauses, that make it much harder to reverse privatisations and will allow greater market access for foreign companies.

"It will be terrible for the climate. TISA entrenches the idea of technological neutrality on energy policy. This could stop countries favouring renewables over coal, oil and gas.

"It will mean more casino capitalism. TISA will undermine efforts to regulate the financial sector and avoid another crisis.

"It threatens online privacy. TISA promises to hand much more power to the likes of Google and Microsoft to move personal data across borders to countries with lax data protection laws.

"It will be especially damaging to countries in the global south. TISA includes countries likePakistan that could be hindered in developing public services. It also poses a threat to countries outside TISA, because, once approved, rich countries will seek to impose TISA-style measures globally through the WTO."

See full report here: http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/resources/what-tisa-and-why-we-need-stop-it