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Saudi Lawsuit Threat Exactly Why TPPA Worrying

Saudi Lawsuit Threat Exactly Why TPPA Worrying


The threat of a lawsuit after New Zealand stopped the live sheep trade is a warning on what we can expect under a TPPA deal, says New Zealand First.

“Instead of fighting a legal case over the live sheep decision, National submitted to blackmail and handed over $11.5 million of farm livestock and equipment as compensation to a Saudi Arabian businessman,” says Spokesperson on Trade Fletcher Tabuteau.

“Yet, as Foreign Minister Murray McCully confirmed in Parliament today, the government never had a trade agreement or formal contractual agreement of any kind with the businessman.

“How on earth could the government have been forced to pay compensation?

“But, be warned, under the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) we will be signing up to allow foreign corporates to sue us if they are unhappy with our laws.

“In the case of the Saudi threat the government was blackmailed over taking a stand on the treatment of animals.”

New Zealand First’s member’s bill, Fighting Foreign Corporate Control, is expected to have a first reading in Parliament soon. The bill would protect the public interest by preventing any future government signing an international agreement with a clause allowing foreign corporates to sue the New Zealand government.

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/bill/member/2015/0014/latest/DLM6415502.html?src=qs

ENDS

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