Press Release: NETWORK Statement on Fast Track

June 19, 2015

It is particularly disheartening that on the day Pope Francis released his much anticipated encyclical Laudato Si’, which calls for greater recognition by policymakers of the full inclusion of the most vulnerable members of society in decision-making and care for the Earth, the House of Representatives would pass Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) legislation. “Fast track” undermines the principle of democratic participation and silences the voices of people not at the negotiating table, namely those who struggle at the margins of society.

We know from past agreements that the adverse impacts of such agreements are not considered by those who seek to benefit greatly from their provisions. To compound that problem, fast track silences the voices that most need to be heard. Trade agreements need a full discussion. They must reflect our values and support the common good. The level of secrecy and the unwillingness to make meaningful improvements to the text that we witness in the current trade negotiations are deeply disturbing.

The message of Laudato Si’ is that every person is a member of one human family. As brothers and sisters who share a common home, we have a responsibility to care for one another and for the Earth. The care for the common good is the central message of the encyclical. If the earth is to be protected, economic interests must not trump the common good. Pope Francis asks us to “reject a magical conception of the market, which would suggest that problems can be solved simply by an increase in the profits of companies or individuals.”

“This vision of ‘might is right’ has engendered immense inequality, injustice and acts of violence against the majority of humanity, since resources end up in the hands of the first comer or the most powerful: the winner takes all.” This, Pope Francis says, is particularly true for indigenous communities who view land as “not a commodity but rather a gift from God and from their ancestors who rest there, a sacred space with which they need to interact if they are to maintain their identity and values.” U.S. trade policy must be centered on care for the most vulnerable members of society in the United States and around the world.

We urge our members of Congress to reject TPA and to instead foster the culture of inclusion laid out by Pope Francis, one in which our leaders are strong and creative in their efforts to foster a new economy in which everyone has a seat at the table and none are excluded.