system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:Why isn't the public allowed to read the details of the TTP trade deal?
gpt
The TTP trade agreement/treaty contains clauses which are not in your best interest. Instead, it serves the interests of large corporations who have been working with the government in secret for ~10 years crafting the language. It changes the Intellectual Property rules and signatory countries have to change their domestic laws and policies to match the TPP. This will have a huge impact on the ability of companies to get pharmaceutical generics (low cost drugs) on the market. It also appears to allow international companies to effectively sue governments for enacting legislation that hurts their profits. The decision in this legal battle will be adjudicated in private, by a group of people not elected by the public, and their decisions will be binding, and will impact the legislation of the countries impacted. Many suspect this will lead to a loosening of the regulatory schemes in all signatory countries, including the US. In some ways, the TTP agreement raises large corporations and their desires above governments, and the desires of the public at large. They don't want you to read it, because you would naturally oppose it. If they can get it fast-tracked and signed off before you can do anything about it, it will be too late. Treaties tend to be binding and not easily rescinded.