trade
Trading Away Their Oaths

Trading Away Their Oaths

Support for new “trade agreements” or the Transatlantic Policy Network means breaking a congressman’s oath. After all, as this article shows, full implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade agenda would effectively mean the abolition of the United States as a free and independent nation. ...
William F. Jasper

On the opening day of each new Congress, every member of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives takes an oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and “bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” For many members, no doubt, this solemn act is merely a perfunctory ceremony, but it is a morally and legally binding act, nevertheless, and one that should not be taken lightly. And each member will soon be severely tested regarding that sworn duty.

Will it be possible, for instance, for representatives and senators to honor their oaths to “support and defend” the Constitution and “bear true faith and allegiance” to it, and at the same time to vote for so-called trade agreements that surrender American sovereignty to international tribunals that would be empowered to override that same Constitution — not to mention our state constitutions and national, state, and local laws? To vote for agreements that establish new institutions of supranational governance with evolving powers — legislative, executive, and judicial — that subvert and supplant the Constitution? To vote for these same agreements that have been crafted in secrecy by the Obama administration and select corporate interests — with Congress completely excluded — in violation of the Constitution’s mandate for Congress, not the president, “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations”?

We are not conjuring up mere theoretical threats here. Previously enacted “trade agreements” have already delivered rulings by NAFTA and World Trade Organ­ization (WTO) tribunals that have overruled U.S. laws and U.S. federal and state court rulings. Georgetown University law professor John D. Echeverria has characterized this development as “the biggest threat to United States judicial independence that no one has heard of and even fewer people understand,” while Hofstra University law professor Peter Spiro says it “points to a fundamental reorientation of our constitutional system.”

This fantastic article is for subscribers only.
Login
Lost Password?

JBS Member or ShopJBS.org Customer?

Sign in with your ShopJBS.org account username and password or use that login to subscribe.

The New American Digital Subscription The New American Digital Subscription Subscribe Now
Use code SUB25 at check out
  • 24 Issues Per Year
  • Digital Edition Access
  • Exclusive Subscriber Content
  • Audio provided for all articles
  • Unlimited access to past issues
  • Cancel anytime.
  • Renews automatically
The New American Print+Digital Subscription The New American Print+Digital Subscription Subscribe Now
Use code SUB25 at check out
  • 24 Issues Per Year
  • Print edition delivery (USA)
    *Available Outside USA
  • Digital Edition Access
  • Exclusive Subscriber Content
  • Audio provided for all articles
  • Unlimited access to past issues
  • Cancel anytime.
  • Renews automatically