Chileans protest against signing of TPP

A Chilean mass organization held a public dmonstration here on Thursday in protest of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after the regional trade agreement was officially signed at a meeting in New Zealand earlier in the day.

The protest was organized by the Permanent Assembly for the Defense of Arica and Parinacota in northern Chile, made up of nongovernmental organizations, students, farmers and environmental activists.

The assembly criticized that the TPP would force Chile to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (1991) and the Monsanto Law, which privatizes seeds and makes traditional agricultural practices illegal.

Furthermore, the assembly said the TPP would also force Chile to modify its environment and taxation laws, "which could have been used to control actions of multinational companies."

Thursday's protest was the latest in a series of marches across the country since Jan. 23.

Asked how to respond to the dissenting voice, Chilean Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdes admitted in an interview with Chile's ADN radio station that time is needed to show the benefits of the agreement.

"The deal was very well made. We almost did not have to concede anything as we have made numerous engagements in previous agreements," he said.

The TPP, signed on Thursday in New Zealand, is a multi-national free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. Endi