Ethics

Secret trade pact between U.S., Europe could void local laws on chemical, gas storage

By Ed Brayton

This is a full repost of the article I published yesterday at the Michigan Messenger about the results of my lawsuit against the Bush administration

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative under the Bush administration struck a secret deal with the European Union that could open up a door for foreign ownership of liquefied natural gas terminals and other dangerous chemical and energy facilities. The agreement could also create conditions in which federal, state and local regulations affecting those facilities could be challenged as barriers to international trade.

Details of the negotiations came to light after a Freedom of Information Act request by Michigan Messenger was denied by the Bush administration on grounds that the deal was "classified in the interest of national security pursuant to Executive Order 12958."

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on April 03, 2009 (boomark / email).