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Have “the stars aligned” to pass a big trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union? Public-policy blogger Tony Lucadamo thinks so. He sees the seating of a new Congress in January as the pivotal event for passing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or T-TIP. Lucadamo, a policy analyst for the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs, just trotted out a “pro-T-TIP” blog on the website of The Hill, a Washington newspaper. He wrote: “[President] Obama needs a foreign policy accomplishment more than ever . . . . T-TIP stakeholders on both sides of the Atlantic must act now or risk [letting] this ideal yet precarious moment pass by.” Lucadamo added: “Following a recent White House press release, transatlantic trade appears next on the agenda.” Although pro-free trade Republicans will soon seize a congressional majority, Lucadamo still fears that economic recovery on both sides of the Atlantic “rests on shaky ground.” However, it appears that T-TIP is just more of the same-old “free trade.” And history shows that free trade has: Depleted the U.S. manufacturing base Exported good-paying jobs And turned the U.S. into a low-wage service economy A hallmark of sovereignty is for national constitutions and tax policies to come first, not take a “back seat.” But free-trade starts with the premise that nations are not really sovereign. Also, the T-TIP negotiations, as was the case when the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed, assume that elected legislatures must only vote “up or down” on enacting T-TIP without real input and without amendments. That goes against the U.S. constitutional provision that Congress should regulate trade with foreign nations. In addition, international trade carries an almost religious stigma against import taxes known as tariffs. That’s because charging a tariff is an act of sovereignty. Tariffs allow a nation to sufficiently protect its industrial base and its tax base, while giving the recipient nation a reasonable revenue source for allowing foreign-made products into the domestic market. T-TIP would cover a U.S.-EU marketplace consisting of 45 percent of global GDP and a third of world trade. Lucadamo added that whatever T-TIP looks like in its final form: “Reductions in tariffs and regulation are a certainty.” Yet, free-trade’s sordid history gives opponents strong talking points to challenge Lucadamo and other trade propagandists. Support Indymedia! Donate USD: http://nnn.is/donate-dollars Donate BTC: http://nnn.is/donate-bitcoin Download your free Next News "Heroes & Villains" Poster here: http://nextnewsnetwork.com/the-2013-heroes-villains-posters LIVE: http://NextNewsNetwork.com Facebook: http://Facebook.com/NextNewsNet Twitter: http://Twitter.com/NextNewsNet Sub: http://NNN.is/the_new_media Meet the Next News Team: http://youtu.be/2QnNKwQ2WkY Hashtag: #N3 #DC