

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
This week, the TransCanada pipeline company officially filed a $15 billion corporate trade lawsuit against the United States for refusing to allow the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. After an intense grassroots campaign by environmentalists, farmers, landowners and local governments, President Obama blocked the pipeline that would have delivered high-carbon oil from Canadian tar sands because it undermined U.S. efforts to fight climate change.
But TransCanada is now using North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) investment rules to sue the federal government for rejecting the pipeline, demanding $15 billion dollars in repayment for anticipated profits it expected from the project.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has the same kind of investment rules that allow foreign companies to sue for damages if new laws or policies allegedly undermine their expected future earnings. These rules set up a special court for corporations to challenge measures that protect the environment and public health -- effectively demanding payoffs when governments take action to safeguard the public.
Greenhouse gas polluters could use the TPP investment provisions to unravel federal, state and local efforts to fight climate change. For example, these TPP rules would empower foreign oil and gas companies with leases on public lands to sue for damages if Congress passed the Protect Our Public Lands Act, which would prohibit fracking on federal land.
Take Action: Tell Congress to Reject the TPP
This week's Keystone XL lawsuit brought to you by NAFTA only highlights the dangers of these corporate trade investor suits and contributes to the growing skepticism and hostility towards the TPP. It's no wonder there is widespread and surging dissatisfaction with so-called free trade deals that are little more than giveaways to the largest international corporations.
Enough is enough. Congress should reject the TPP to prevent these corporate trade lawsuits from weakening environmental, workplace and public health protections. Take action today to urge Congress to reject the TPP.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This week, the TransCanada pipeline company officially filed a $15 billion corporate trade lawsuit against the United States for refusing to allow the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. After an intense grassroots campaign by environmentalists, farmers, landowners and local governments, President Obama blocked the pipeline that would have delivered high-carbon oil from Canadian tar sands because it undermined U.S. efforts to fight climate change.
But TransCanada is now using North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) investment rules to sue the federal government for rejecting the pipeline, demanding $15 billion dollars in repayment for anticipated profits it expected from the project.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has the same kind of investment rules that allow foreign companies to sue for damages if new laws or policies allegedly undermine their expected future earnings. These rules set up a special court for corporations to challenge measures that protect the environment and public health -- effectively demanding payoffs when governments take action to safeguard the public.
Greenhouse gas polluters could use the TPP investment provisions to unravel federal, state and local efforts to fight climate change. For example, these TPP rules would empower foreign oil and gas companies with leases on public lands to sue for damages if Congress passed the Protect Our Public Lands Act, which would prohibit fracking on federal land.
Take Action: Tell Congress to Reject the TPP
This week's Keystone XL lawsuit brought to you by NAFTA only highlights the dangers of these corporate trade investor suits and contributes to the growing skepticism and hostility towards the TPP. It's no wonder there is widespread and surging dissatisfaction with so-called free trade deals that are little more than giveaways to the largest international corporations.
Enough is enough. Congress should reject the TPP to prevent these corporate trade lawsuits from weakening environmental, workplace and public health protections. Take action today to urge Congress to reject the TPP.
This week, the TransCanada pipeline company officially filed a $15 billion corporate trade lawsuit against the United States for refusing to allow the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. After an intense grassroots campaign by environmentalists, farmers, landowners and local governments, President Obama blocked the pipeline that would have delivered high-carbon oil from Canadian tar sands because it undermined U.S. efforts to fight climate change.
But TransCanada is now using North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) investment rules to sue the federal government for rejecting the pipeline, demanding $15 billion dollars in repayment for anticipated profits it expected from the project.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has the same kind of investment rules that allow foreign companies to sue for damages if new laws or policies allegedly undermine their expected future earnings. These rules set up a special court for corporations to challenge measures that protect the environment and public health -- effectively demanding payoffs when governments take action to safeguard the public.
Greenhouse gas polluters could use the TPP investment provisions to unravel federal, state and local efforts to fight climate change. For example, these TPP rules would empower foreign oil and gas companies with leases on public lands to sue for damages if Congress passed the Protect Our Public Lands Act, which would prohibit fracking on federal land.
Take Action: Tell Congress to Reject the TPP
This week's Keystone XL lawsuit brought to you by NAFTA only highlights the dangers of these corporate trade investor suits and contributes to the growing skepticism and hostility towards the TPP. It's no wonder there is widespread and surging dissatisfaction with so-called free trade deals that are little more than giveaways to the largest international corporations.
Enough is enough. Congress should reject the TPP to prevent these corporate trade lawsuits from weakening environmental, workplace and public health protections. Take action today to urge Congress to reject the TPP.