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Elites take "globalization" as a given because "trade" deals have pushed sovereignty off the table and locked governments out of decision-making over things like stopping offshoring of jobs and protecting domestic industries. They smirk knowingly and wink and nod when politicians respond to citizen complaints about the disastrous effect this is having on populations, regions and economies. They assume the politicians are just saying what they need to say to get votes and will rejoin them after they get that pesky election out of the way.
Elites take "globalization" as a given because "trade" deals have pushed sovereignty off the table and locked governments out of decision-making over things like stopping offshoring of jobs and protecting domestic industries. They smirk knowingly and wink and nod when politicians respond to citizen complaints about the disastrous effect this is having on populations, regions and economies. They assume the politicians are just saying what they need to say to get votes and will rejoin them after they get that pesky election out of the way.
But times are changing. The public has caught on. "Brexit," the rise of Donald Trump and other reactions to globalization are forcing politicians to come down on the side of the people instead of the corporations.
For example, it turns out that the latest deal to push national governments aside so corporations can do what they want to do, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is a very big deal at the Democratic convention, with the entire convention chanting "No TPP, No TPP." And it has become a very big deal in national politics, too, with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders having made it a centerpiece of their presidential campaigns in the Republican and Democratic parties.
Clinton Opposed To TPP
Hillary Clinton has responded to the pressure, saying repeatedly that she is opposed to TPP and opposed to a vote on TPP in the "lame duck" session after the election.
Appearing on stage with Bernie Sanders as he endorsed her for president, Clinton restated her opposition to TPP, saying, "[W]e're going to say no to attacks on working families and no to bad trade deals and unfair trade practices, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership."
McAuliffe Says Clinton Will Shift "Once The Election's Over"
Virginia governor, long-time Clinton friend and insider Terry McAuliffe, said in public that he thinks Hillary Clinton will shift to being a globalist once the election is out of the way.
Politico's Morning Trade has the story.
"Once the election's over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it but going forward we got to build a global economy."
Pressed on whether Clinton would turn around and support the trade deal she opposed during the heat of the primary fight against Bernie Sanders, McAuliffe said: "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed."
Trump Jumps On It
Donald Trump immediately jumped on McAuliffe's comments, saying it shows that Clinton will "betray" TPP opponents. The odious Washington Times covers this story, in "Donald Trump: 'Just like I have warned,' Hillary Clinton will 'betray you' on TPP":
Donald Trump seized on Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's comments that Hillary Clinton will flip and support the Trans-Pacific Partnership almost as quickly as Mrs. Clinton's team disavowed them, pointing out that he's warned in the past of her looming betrayal on the issue.
"As I have been saying, Crooked Hillary will approve the job killing TPP after the election, despite her statements to the contrary: top adv.," Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday.
Mr. Trump had also shared a Politico story -- in which Mr. McAuliffe predicted Mrs. Clinton would support some version of the trade deal after the election -- in a tweet Tuesday night: "Just like I have warned from the beginning, Crooked Hillary Clinton will betray you on the TPP."
Podesta: It's Not Going to Happen
Clinton campaign chair John Podesta immediately tweeted in response to Trump's comments that Clinton opposes TPP and opposes a vote after the election in the "lame duck" session.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Podesta went further. WSJ reports in "Hillary Clinton Committed to 'New Approach' on Trade Deal, Not Tweaks, Aide Podesta Says," that Podesta responded that this is not what will happen.
John Podesta said that Mrs. Clinton and her newly minted running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, have been clear about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
"They're against it before the election and against it after the election," he said at a lunch sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. He said he met with House Democrats, who overwhelmingly oppose the pact, on Monday and reiterated that position. "So they know, they well know what our position is."
Asked if Mrs. Clinton would seek to renegotiate particular aspects of the agreement but keep the overall structure, he said no.
"We need a new approach to trade," he said. "We're not about renegotiation. We're not kind of interested in that. We're interested in a new approach."
But Podesta hedged on whether Clinton will actively oppose a "lame duck" vote on TPP after the election.
Asked whether Mrs. Clinton would seek to block a lame-duck vote, Mr. Podesta, a former Obama adviser, said: "What the president chooses to do, whether he thinks that that's an effective strategy, is up to him, but that is not our strategy."
Kaine Opposed Now
Bowing to political reality Clinton's vice presidential pick Tim Kaine changed from support for TPP to opposition. Politico reported:
Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said Saturday that the Virginia Democrat shared his negative views on the trade deal with Clinton this week, confirming a report by The Washington Post. "He agreed with her judgment that it fell short" when it came to protecting wages and national security, a Clinton aide reportedly told the newspaper.
Pelosi Opposed As Well
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out clearly in opposition to TPP. The Huffington Post has the story, in "Nancy Pelosi Declares Opposition To Obama's Trade Deal":
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has come out in opposition to the massive Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal as it's currently written, putting her on the same page as newly minted vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) made the declaration in a letter late last week to several groups that protested outside her offices in San Francisco and delivered her more than 200,000 petition signatures opposing the TPP.
"Please be assured that I will oppose the TPP as it is currently written or any deal that attempts to separate commerce from the environment and will work to ensure our nation's trade policies include increased transparency, more consultation, and stronger protections to create jobs, strengthen human rights and protect the environment," Pelosi wrote in messages sent to the Citizens Trade Campaign, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others involved in the campaign.
Elites Have Been Forced To Change And Mean It
Clinton, Kaine, Pelosi, the Democratic Party platform, the entire convention. Pretty much all of the Democratic party now opposes TPP.
One more example: Gene Sperling, a longtime Clinton economic advisor as well as a top aide to President Obama, said at a convention event that TPP is "in the rearview mirror" now. The Los Angeles Times has the story, headlined "Advisors scramble to stop speculation that Hillary Clinton might go back on her word on TPP":
The TPP, as the massive trade pact is known, is "in the rearview mirror, now," said Gene Sperling, the longtime Clinton economic advisor who also served as a top aide to Obama.
"There's no evidence" that "any version" of the TPP would meet the test that Clinton has set during the campaign -- whether it would clearly improve the jobs picture in the U.S., Sperling said at a briefing sponsored by the Atlantic magazine.
Here's the thing. It doesn't matter whether Clinton, Kaine and others oppose TPP and globalization in their hearts. What matters is what they will do. They are more and more on the record, even it if is only that they want to win. This puts more and more pressure on them not to support TPP vote after the election.
What matters is that we keep the pressure on and don't let up. We have to force Obama and Congress away from voting on TPP in the unaccountable "lame duck" session of Congress. It's up to us to make them do it and hold them to it. That is how politics and democracy are supposed to work. We must continue to make it clear to every politician in both parties that support for TPP is toxic, and that a betrayal on it would be devastatingly costly. Because that's how it's done.
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Elites take "globalization" as a given because "trade" deals have pushed sovereignty off the table and locked governments out of decision-making over things like stopping offshoring of jobs and protecting domestic industries. They smirk knowingly and wink and nod when politicians respond to citizen complaints about the disastrous effect this is having on populations, regions and economies. They assume the politicians are just saying what they need to say to get votes and will rejoin them after they get that pesky election out of the way.
But times are changing. The public has caught on. "Brexit," the rise of Donald Trump and other reactions to globalization are forcing politicians to come down on the side of the people instead of the corporations.
For example, it turns out that the latest deal to push national governments aside so corporations can do what they want to do, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is a very big deal at the Democratic convention, with the entire convention chanting "No TPP, No TPP." And it has become a very big deal in national politics, too, with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders having made it a centerpiece of their presidential campaigns in the Republican and Democratic parties.
Clinton Opposed To TPP
Hillary Clinton has responded to the pressure, saying repeatedly that she is opposed to TPP and opposed to a vote on TPP in the "lame duck" session after the election.
Appearing on stage with Bernie Sanders as he endorsed her for president, Clinton restated her opposition to TPP, saying, "[W]e're going to say no to attacks on working families and no to bad trade deals and unfair trade practices, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership."
McAuliffe Says Clinton Will Shift "Once The Election's Over"
Virginia governor, long-time Clinton friend and insider Terry McAuliffe, said in public that he thinks Hillary Clinton will shift to being a globalist once the election is out of the way.
Politico's Morning Trade has the story.
"Once the election's over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it but going forward we got to build a global economy."
Pressed on whether Clinton would turn around and support the trade deal she opposed during the heat of the primary fight against Bernie Sanders, McAuliffe said: "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed."
Trump Jumps On It
Donald Trump immediately jumped on McAuliffe's comments, saying it shows that Clinton will "betray" TPP opponents. The odious Washington Times covers this story, in "Donald Trump: 'Just like I have warned,' Hillary Clinton will 'betray you' on TPP":
Donald Trump seized on Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's comments that Hillary Clinton will flip and support the Trans-Pacific Partnership almost as quickly as Mrs. Clinton's team disavowed them, pointing out that he's warned in the past of her looming betrayal on the issue.
"As I have been saying, Crooked Hillary will approve the job killing TPP after the election, despite her statements to the contrary: top adv.," Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday.
Mr. Trump had also shared a Politico story -- in which Mr. McAuliffe predicted Mrs. Clinton would support some version of the trade deal after the election -- in a tweet Tuesday night: "Just like I have warned from the beginning, Crooked Hillary Clinton will betray you on the TPP."
Podesta: It's Not Going to Happen
Clinton campaign chair John Podesta immediately tweeted in response to Trump's comments that Clinton opposes TPP and opposes a vote after the election in the "lame duck" session.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Podesta went further. WSJ reports in "Hillary Clinton Committed to 'New Approach' on Trade Deal, Not Tweaks, Aide Podesta Says," that Podesta responded that this is not what will happen.
John Podesta said that Mrs. Clinton and her newly minted running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, have been clear about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
"They're against it before the election and against it after the election," he said at a lunch sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. He said he met with House Democrats, who overwhelmingly oppose the pact, on Monday and reiterated that position. "So they know, they well know what our position is."
Asked if Mrs. Clinton would seek to renegotiate particular aspects of the agreement but keep the overall structure, he said no.
"We need a new approach to trade," he said. "We're not about renegotiation. We're not kind of interested in that. We're interested in a new approach."
But Podesta hedged on whether Clinton will actively oppose a "lame duck" vote on TPP after the election.
Asked whether Mrs. Clinton would seek to block a lame-duck vote, Mr. Podesta, a former Obama adviser, said: "What the president chooses to do, whether he thinks that that's an effective strategy, is up to him, but that is not our strategy."
Kaine Opposed Now
Bowing to political reality Clinton's vice presidential pick Tim Kaine changed from support for TPP to opposition. Politico reported:
Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said Saturday that the Virginia Democrat shared his negative views on the trade deal with Clinton this week, confirming a report by The Washington Post. "He agreed with her judgment that it fell short" when it came to protecting wages and national security, a Clinton aide reportedly told the newspaper.
Pelosi Opposed As Well
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out clearly in opposition to TPP. The Huffington Post has the story, in "Nancy Pelosi Declares Opposition To Obama's Trade Deal":
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has come out in opposition to the massive Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal as it's currently written, putting her on the same page as newly minted vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) made the declaration in a letter late last week to several groups that protested outside her offices in San Francisco and delivered her more than 200,000 petition signatures opposing the TPP.
"Please be assured that I will oppose the TPP as it is currently written or any deal that attempts to separate commerce from the environment and will work to ensure our nation's trade policies include increased transparency, more consultation, and stronger protections to create jobs, strengthen human rights and protect the environment," Pelosi wrote in messages sent to the Citizens Trade Campaign, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others involved in the campaign.
Elites Have Been Forced To Change And Mean It
Clinton, Kaine, Pelosi, the Democratic Party platform, the entire convention. Pretty much all of the Democratic party now opposes TPP.
One more example: Gene Sperling, a longtime Clinton economic advisor as well as a top aide to President Obama, said at a convention event that TPP is "in the rearview mirror" now. The Los Angeles Times has the story, headlined "Advisors scramble to stop speculation that Hillary Clinton might go back on her word on TPP":
The TPP, as the massive trade pact is known, is "in the rearview mirror, now," said Gene Sperling, the longtime Clinton economic advisor who also served as a top aide to Obama.
"There's no evidence" that "any version" of the TPP would meet the test that Clinton has set during the campaign -- whether it would clearly improve the jobs picture in the U.S., Sperling said at a briefing sponsored by the Atlantic magazine.
Here's the thing. It doesn't matter whether Clinton, Kaine and others oppose TPP and globalization in their hearts. What matters is what they will do. They are more and more on the record, even it if is only that they want to win. This puts more and more pressure on them not to support TPP vote after the election.
What matters is that we keep the pressure on and don't let up. We have to force Obama and Congress away from voting on TPP in the unaccountable "lame duck" session of Congress. It's up to us to make them do it and hold them to it. That is how politics and democracy are supposed to work. We must continue to make it clear to every politician in both parties that support for TPP is toxic, and that a betrayal on it would be devastatingly costly. Because that's how it's done.
Elites take "globalization" as a given because "trade" deals have pushed sovereignty off the table and locked governments out of decision-making over things like stopping offshoring of jobs and protecting domestic industries. They smirk knowingly and wink and nod when politicians respond to citizen complaints about the disastrous effect this is having on populations, regions and economies. They assume the politicians are just saying what they need to say to get votes and will rejoin them after they get that pesky election out of the way.
But times are changing. The public has caught on. "Brexit," the rise of Donald Trump and other reactions to globalization are forcing politicians to come down on the side of the people instead of the corporations.
For example, it turns out that the latest deal to push national governments aside so corporations can do what they want to do, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), is a very big deal at the Democratic convention, with the entire convention chanting "No TPP, No TPP." And it has become a very big deal in national politics, too, with Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders having made it a centerpiece of their presidential campaigns in the Republican and Democratic parties.
Clinton Opposed To TPP
Hillary Clinton has responded to the pressure, saying repeatedly that she is opposed to TPP and opposed to a vote on TPP in the "lame duck" session after the election.
Appearing on stage with Bernie Sanders as he endorsed her for president, Clinton restated her opposition to TPP, saying, "[W]e're going to say no to attacks on working families and no to bad trade deals and unfair trade practices, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership."
McAuliffe Says Clinton Will Shift "Once The Election's Over"
Virginia governor, long-time Clinton friend and insider Terry McAuliffe, said in public that he thinks Hillary Clinton will shift to being a globalist once the election is out of the way.
Politico's Morning Trade has the story.
"Once the election's over, and we sit down on trade, people understand a couple things we want to fix on it but going forward we got to build a global economy."
Pressed on whether Clinton would turn around and support the trade deal she opposed during the heat of the primary fight against Bernie Sanders, McAuliffe said: "Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed."
Trump Jumps On It
Donald Trump immediately jumped on McAuliffe's comments, saying it shows that Clinton will "betray" TPP opponents. The odious Washington Times covers this story, in "Donald Trump: 'Just like I have warned,' Hillary Clinton will 'betray you' on TPP":
Donald Trump seized on Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's comments that Hillary Clinton will flip and support the Trans-Pacific Partnership almost as quickly as Mrs. Clinton's team disavowed them, pointing out that he's warned in the past of her looming betrayal on the issue.
"As I have been saying, Crooked Hillary will approve the job killing TPP after the election, despite her statements to the contrary: top adv.," Mr. Trump tweeted Wednesday.
Mr. Trump had also shared a Politico story -- in which Mr. McAuliffe predicted Mrs. Clinton would support some version of the trade deal after the election -- in a tweet Tuesday night: "Just like I have warned from the beginning, Crooked Hillary Clinton will betray you on the TPP."
Podesta: It's Not Going to Happen
Clinton campaign chair John Podesta immediately tweeted in response to Trump's comments that Clinton opposes TPP and opposes a vote after the election in the "lame duck" session.
Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Podesta went further. WSJ reports in "Hillary Clinton Committed to 'New Approach' on Trade Deal, Not Tweaks, Aide Podesta Says," that Podesta responded that this is not what will happen.
John Podesta said that Mrs. Clinton and her newly minted running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, have been clear about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.
"They're against it before the election and against it after the election," he said at a lunch sponsored by The Wall Street Journal. He said he met with House Democrats, who overwhelmingly oppose the pact, on Monday and reiterated that position. "So they know, they well know what our position is."
Asked if Mrs. Clinton would seek to renegotiate particular aspects of the agreement but keep the overall structure, he said no.
"We need a new approach to trade," he said. "We're not about renegotiation. We're not kind of interested in that. We're interested in a new approach."
But Podesta hedged on whether Clinton will actively oppose a "lame duck" vote on TPP after the election.
Asked whether Mrs. Clinton would seek to block a lame-duck vote, Mr. Podesta, a former Obama adviser, said: "What the president chooses to do, whether he thinks that that's an effective strategy, is up to him, but that is not our strategy."
Kaine Opposed Now
Bowing to political reality Clinton's vice presidential pick Tim Kaine changed from support for TPP to opposition. Politico reported:
Kaine spokeswoman Amy Dudley said Saturday that the Virginia Democrat shared his negative views on the trade deal with Clinton this week, confirming a report by The Washington Post. "He agreed with her judgment that it fell short" when it came to protecting wages and national security, a Clinton aide reportedly told the newspaper.
Pelosi Opposed As Well
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out clearly in opposition to TPP. The Huffington Post has the story, in "Nancy Pelosi Declares Opposition To Obama's Trade Deal":
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has come out in opposition to the massive Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal as it's currently written, putting her on the same page as newly minted vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine.
Pelosi (D-Calif.) made the declaration in a letter late last week to several groups that protested outside her offices in San Francisco and delivered her more than 200,000 petition signatures opposing the TPP.
"Please be assured that I will oppose the TPP as it is currently written or any deal that attempts to separate commerce from the environment and will work to ensure our nation's trade policies include increased transparency, more consultation, and stronger protections to create jobs, strengthen human rights and protect the environment," Pelosi wrote in messages sent to the Citizens Trade Campaign, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and others involved in the campaign.
Elites Have Been Forced To Change And Mean It
Clinton, Kaine, Pelosi, the Democratic Party platform, the entire convention. Pretty much all of the Democratic party now opposes TPP.
One more example: Gene Sperling, a longtime Clinton economic advisor as well as a top aide to President Obama, said at a convention event that TPP is "in the rearview mirror" now. The Los Angeles Times has the story, headlined "Advisors scramble to stop speculation that Hillary Clinton might go back on her word on TPP":
The TPP, as the massive trade pact is known, is "in the rearview mirror, now," said Gene Sperling, the longtime Clinton economic advisor who also served as a top aide to Obama.
"There's no evidence" that "any version" of the TPP would meet the test that Clinton has set during the campaign -- whether it would clearly improve the jobs picture in the U.S., Sperling said at a briefing sponsored by the Atlantic magazine.
Here's the thing. It doesn't matter whether Clinton, Kaine and others oppose TPP and globalization in their hearts. What matters is what they will do. They are more and more on the record, even it if is only that they want to win. This puts more and more pressure on them not to support TPP vote after the election.
What matters is that we keep the pressure on and don't let up. We have to force Obama and Congress away from voting on TPP in the unaccountable "lame duck" session of Congress. It's up to us to make them do it and hold them to it. That is how politics and democracy are supposed to work. We must continue to make it clear to every politician in both parties that support for TPP is toxic, and that a betrayal on it would be devastatingly costly. Because that's how it's done.
"The interception occurred in international waters outside Palestinian territorial waters off Gaza, in violation of international maritime law," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said.
The Israeli military intercepted and seized the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel The Handala late Saturday night local time as it attempted to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid to the besieged people of Gaza.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition reported that Israeli forces cut the cameras on board the ship at 11:43 pm local time, when it was around 40 nautical miles from Gaza.
"The unarmed boat was carrying lifesaving supplies when it was boarded by Israeli forces, its passengers abducted, and its cargo seized," the coalition wrote. "The interception occurred in international waters outside Palestinian territorial waters off Gaza, in violation of international maritime law."
Israel's Foreign Ministry confirmed that its navy had intercepted the ship, as Al Jazeera reported.
"The vessel is safely making its way to the shores of Israel," the ministry said in a statement. "All passengers are safe."
"Our vessel does not constitute any threat to you. We carry only humanitarian aid, and therefore, you have no authority to intercept or otherwise attack our vessel."
The Handala set sail for Gaza on July 20 from Gallipoli, Italy. It is the second attempt by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to break the siege on Gaza in under two months. An earlier attempt in June was also intercepted by the Israeli military and its crew members arrested and deported.
There are 21 crew members onboard The Handala from 12 countries: 19 human rights defenders and two journalists. The crew includes seven U.S. citizens, among them labor leader Christian Smalls.
The crew had promised to begin a hunger strike as soon as they were intercepted by the Israeli military.
"In captivity they can give their sandwiches and water to the starving people of Gaza," Smalls wrote on social media.
Another U.S. crew member, the Palestinian-American lawyer and activist Huwaida Arraf, rebuked the Israeli Navy as they boarded the ship, according to a video obtained by Al Jazeera:
"Let me give you a lesson in international law," Arraf said, adding:
Any blockade that deliberately starves a civilian population is a violation of international law. It is not only that—it is a war crime. You have no legal authority to enforce an unlawful blockade. And as such, you have no authority to use force to enforce an unlawful blockade.
Therefore, we demand that you stand down. You are responsible for the well-being of every civilian on board this vessel. As an occupying power in Gaza, you are responsible for the health and well-being of the civilian population there.
Not only have you disregarded that obligation, but you are actively exterminating the people. You have engineered a famine. You are deliberately starving civilians and children before the eyes of the world.
Our vessel does not constitute any threat to you. We carry only humanitarian aid, and therefore, you have no authority to intercept or otherwise attack our vessel. We demand again that you stand down.
The Handala's interception came at the close of a day that saw 71 people killed in Gaza due to Israeli attacks and five perish from hunger. This brings the total number of deaths from starvation in Gaza to over 127, among them more than 85 children. After 658 days of a U.S.-backed Israeli siege, more than 85% of Palestinians in Gaza are now in the most dangerous Stage 5 of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification to measure famine. One five-month-old child who died on Friday due to lack of baby formula weighed less at death than she did at birth, as The Associated Press reported. A growing number of human rights experts and advocates have characterized Israel's war and siege on Gaza as a genocide.
The ship was carrying diapers, baby formula, food, and medicine.
According to the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition, Saturday's interception was the "third violent act by Israeli forces against Freedom Flotilla missions this year alone."
"It follows the drone bombing of the civilian aid ship Conscience in European waters in May, which injured four people and disabled the vessel, and the illegal seizure of The Madleen in June, where Israeli forces abducted 12 civilians, including a member of the European Parliament," the group wrote.
Ann Wright, a member of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla Coalition steering committee, called on the governments of the 21 crew members to advocate for their citizens.
"Protect innocent international people who are merely accompanying a small amount of aid—medical and food—as a symbol of the international outrage at what Israel is doing," she told Al Jazeera.
"There is still a chance to stop this industry before it begins, but only if governments stand up for science, equity, and precaution now," one campaigner said.
Despite growing momentum, world governments failed to agree to a moratorium on deep-sea mining as the 30th session of the International Seabed Authority wrapped up on Friday.
The authority's July meeting was the first since U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to expedite permits for deep-sea mining under U.S. authority and The Metals Company (TMC) promptly applied for U.S. permits. Governments rebuked the U.S. and TMC for their unilateral approach and did not agree on a mining code that would allow the controversial practice to move forward under international law. However, campaigners said more decisive action is needed to protect the ocean and its biodiversity.
"Governments have yet to rise to the moment," Greenpeace International campaigner Louisa Casson said in a statement. "They remain disconnected from global concerns and the pressing need for courageous leadership to protect the deep ocean."
Casson continued: "We call on the international community to rise up and defend multilateralism against rogue actors like The Metals Company. Governments must respond by establishing a moratorium and reaffirming that authority over the international seabed lies collectively with all states—for the benefit of humanity as a whole."
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) gains its authority to regulate deep-sea mining under the United Nations Law of the Sea, to which the U.S. is not party. TMC, however, could suffer consequences for bypassing the international process, as other countries and companies may decide not to do business with it.
At the most recent session, the ISA's council decided not to revoke exploratory permits it had previously granted to TMC and its subsidiaries. However, it approved an investigation on Monday into whether mining contractors such as TMC subsidiaries Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. and Tonga Offshore Mining Limited were abiding by their obligations under international law.
"TMC has been testing the limits of what it can get away with, a bit like a child seeing how far it can go with bad behavior," Matthew Gianni, cofounder of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), told The New York Times.
"The member countries of the ISA have basically sent a shot across the bow, a warning to TMC that going rogue may well result in the loss of its ISA exploration claims," Gianna explained, adding that the investigation also served as a warning to other companies who might consider following TMC's example.
"The Trump administration's pursuit of deep-sea mining isn't about global stewardship—it's about sidestepping it."
Casson agreed: "The international community's message to The Metals Company is clear: Violating international law, ignoring scientific consensus, and disregarding human rights will have consequences. This is also a warning to any companies or governments choosing to align themselves with [TMC CEO] Gerard Barron's business model—they must be prepared to bear the reputational fallout of trying to destroy the ocean."
At the same time, a U.S. representative spoke on Thursday, doubling down on Trump's dismissal of the international process and earning instant push back from Brazil, France, and China
"As a non-party to the Law of the Sea Convention, the United States is not bound by the convention rules dealing with seabed mining through the International Seabed Authority," the U.S. statement said in part.
The statement came days after Greenpeace released a report titled Deep Deception: How the Deep-Sea Mining Industry is Manipulating Geopolitics to Profit from Ocean Destruction, which details how TMC and other deep-sea mining companies are exploiting national security concerns to lobby U.S. lawmakers to fast track deep-sea mining.
"The U.S. statement confirms what Deep Deception has already exposed: The Trump administration's pursuit of deep-sea mining isn't about global stewardship—it's about sidestepping it," Arlo Hemphill, Greenpeace USA's project lead for the Stop Deep-Sea Mining campaign, said in a statement. "By rejecting the ISA's authority while claiming environmental responsibility, the U.S. is trying to have it both ways—and in doing so is advancing a 'smash and grab' agenda that puts ocean health and international cooperation at serious risk."
Ultimately, ocean advocates agree that the only way to protect the deep sea is for governments to agree to a precautionary pause on a practice they argue would do irreparable harm to ecosystems science barely understands.
The consensus for such a pause is building, with Croatia becoming the 38th nation to support one during the latest ISA meeting.
"The ISA is paralyzed by a small group clinging to outdated extraction agendas while blocking even the most basic reforms," Simon Holmström, the deep-sea mining policy officer for Seas at Risk, said in a statement. "The firm rejection of the U.S. and The Metals Company's power grab, alongside 38 countries now calling for a moratorium or precautionary pause, shows growing resistance to sacrificing the planet's least understood ecosystem for corporate short-term profit."
"To even consider a new form of ecocide on our already ailing planet is both reckless and irrational."
Several nations spoke strongly in favor a moratorium, including Palau, Panama, and France.
"Exploiting the seabed is not a necessity—it is a choice," said His Excellency Surangel S. Whipps Jr., president of the Republic of Palau, on Tuesday. "And it is reckless. It is gambling with the future of Pacific Island children, who will inherit the dire consequences of decisions made far from their shores."
A Pacific leader from Solomon Island also defended the interests of the Pacific Ocean community: "As Pacific people, we continue to carry the trauma of what extractive industries have already done to our homes. Mining companies that came with promises, stripped our lands and waters, and left behind ecological, cultural, and spiritual scars. We cannot let that cycle repeat itself, in the ocean that connects us. That sustains us. And that defines us."
Olivier Poivre d'Arvor of France called for a pause of 10-15 years: "Our message is clear: no deep-sea mining without science, without collective legitimacy, without equity [...] France is calling for a moratorium or a precautionary pause. What for? Because we refuse to mortgage the future for a few nodules extracted in a hurry, in favor of a few."
However, campaigners argued that many governments continued to fall short of the commitments they had made at the U.N. Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice in early June.
"Thirty-eight states have now joined the call for a moratorium or precautionary pause, with Croatia joining the coalition during this Assembly," said DSCC campaign director Sofia Tsenikli. "But too many other states, which were bold in their ocean promises at UNOC, are not putting this into action at the ISA. Governments must meet their promises by doing what it takes to implement a moratorium before it's too late."
Farah Obaidullah, founder and director of The Ocean and Us, argued that the ocean already faces too many other threats to add the additional burden of deep-sea mining.
"The health of the high seas including the seabed is critical to our own. Yet our shared heritage faces an onslaught of threats from climate and nature collapse, escalating tensions, and failed leadership," Obaidullah said. "To even consider a new form of ecocide on our already ailing planet is both reckless and irrational. We know that deep-sea mining will devastate life in the deep ocean, wipe out species before they have been discovered, and impact ocean functions, including carbon sequestration. When it comes to the ocean we have no time to lose. We cannot colonize and conquer our shared heritage which belongs to us all. There is only one responsible way forward, and that is to secure a moratorium on deep-sea mining."
DSCC's Gianni also argued strongly for a pause: "Being on the fence or remaining silent is not a politically defensible position. We are risking severe ecological damage, and future generations will ask what we did to stop it. There is still a chance to stop this industry before it begins, but only if governments stand up for science, equity, and precaution now, and take action to prevent companies within their jurisdiction from cooperating with rogue mining operations."
Greenpeace's Hemphill concluded: "Governments must secure a moratorium that leaves no room for a desperate industry to force through a mining code. The science is not ready. The legal framework is not in place. The world must not be bullied into an irreversible mistake for the benefit of a few."
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Massachusetts found an exception to the Supreme Court's recent limit on nationwide injunctions.
For the third time since the U.S. Supreme Court used the case to limit nationwide injunctions in June, a court has blocked U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship from going into effect.
U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin of Massachusetts ruled on Friday that a nationwide injunction he had granted to over 12 states still applied under an exception laid out in the Supreme Court decision.
"We are thrilled that the district court again barred President Trump's flagrantly unconstitutional birthright citizenship order from taking effect anywhere," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, whose state took the lead on bringing the case, said in a statement.
Trump issued an executive order in January ending birthright citizenship for children born to parents with no legal status, a move widely decried as unconstitutional. Several lawsuits followed, resulting in a nationwide injunction blocking the order from taking effect.
"American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation's history."
In June, the Supreme Court weighed in by limiting the ability of lower courts to issue nationwide injunctions, but declining to comment on the constitutionality of the order itself. However, the nation's highest court did say that states could receive nationwide injunctions if it was the only way to offer full relief, which Sorokin determined Friday was indeed the case.
The states had argued that the birthright order, in addition to being unconstitutional, would put millions of dollars for citizenship-dependent health insurance assistance at risk, according to The Associated Press. Sorokin determined anything less than a nationwide ban would not provide full relief to the states, given that people often move across state lines.
"The record does not support a finding that any narrower option would feasibly and adequately protect the plaintiffs from the injuries they have shown they are likely to suffer if the unlawful policy announced in the Executive Order takes effect during the pendency of this lawsuit," Sorokin wrote in his decision.
His ruling followed two others blocking the order since the Supreme Court decision: A July 10 ruling from a federal New Hampshire judge establishing a nationwide class in a new class-action lawsuit, and a determination from a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Wednesday that the order was unconstitutional and the block could stay in effect to offer states relief.
In his decision Friday, Sorokin said the Trump administration was "entitled to pursue their interpretation of the 14th Amendment, and no doubt the Supreme Court will ultimately settle the question," adding, "But in the meantime, for purposes of this lawsuit at this juncture, the Executive Order is unconstitutional."
In response, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek, "These courts are misinterpreting the purpose and the text of the 14th Amendment," adding, "We look forward to being vindicated on appeal."
Patkin, however, celebrated the ruling: "The district court's decision, consistent with the Supreme Court's own instructions, recognizes that this illegal action cannot take effect anywhere without harming New Jersey and the other states who joined in these challenges. American-born babies are American, just as they have been at every other time in our Nation's history. The president cannot change that legal rule with the stroke of a pen."