Hundreds of labor, human rights and other activists marched to the Seattle Convention Center this summer to deliver over 10,000 petition signatures calling for increased transparency in the ongoing Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) negotiations as government officials from throughout the Pacific Rim gathered for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings discussing trade and other topics.
Delivery of the Trade Justice-organized petition generated press attention in over 135 media outlets from coast to coast.
In nation’s capitol, POLITICO quoted Trade Justice Education Fund’s organizing director Hillary Haden saying, “It’s unfair that hundreds of lobbyists representing Big Tech and other corporate special interests have privileged access to Indo-Pacific trade texts, while the public is barred from reviewing what’s being proposed in our names.”
In the Seattle-Tacoma area, KBCS-FM radio quoted Julie Bouanna of the Washington Fair Trade Coalition saying, “If we’re ever going to deliver on the promise of a new worker-centered, climate-friendly trade model, people need to know what’s being proposed in these pacts while there’s still an opportunity to influence the rules being written.”