Obama admin: War is peace, IP negotiations are transparent
Obama admin: War is peace, IP negotiations are transparent

                      
                      
          Speaking before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk touted the openness and transparency of negotiations over the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and the newer Trans Pacific Partnership. Both of those contain numerous copyright and patent provisions. Kirk's statements are sharply at odds with those of the treaties' critics, who say they have been shut out of negotiations.
The day before Wednesday's hearing, a legal advisor to the State Department sent Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) a letter. It argued that ACTA is a "legally binding international agreement," but the Senate doesn't need to ratify it. Why? The advisor, Harold Koh, argues the negotiations were authorized by the 2008 PRO-IP Act. He claimed that because no legislative changes will be required to bring the US into compliance with ACTA, the Obama administration can accept it unilaterally without consulting the Senate, which must ratify all treaties.
But Wyden (D-OR), a leading critic of ACTA, wasn't convinced. 
"It seems to me that this really boxes the Congress in on some very important questions," he told Kirk at a Wednesday hearing. "The Congress is now going to have to be looking over our shoulder with respect to whether or not we've done something that could cause an ACTA party nation to sue us."
"All over the world, you've got parliaments and legislators having debates on whether or not to pass ACTA," Wyden continued. "Why shouldn't the United States Senate consider something like this? As you know, the traditional practice is when something is considered a treaty—a binding agreement—it comes before the Senate."
"Congress has frankly asked us to act," Kirk responded. He again pointed to the 2008 PRO-IP Act as authorizing the ACTA negotiations.
At the same hearing, Wyden pressed Kirk on the transparency of the ACTA and TPP negotiations. "The public, particularly those who feel so strongly about this issue, feels shut out," he said. He suggested the negotiation process was not "in line with the president's commitment to transparency and open government."

          
                      
                  