Shady Trade Deal Would Privatize Postal Service, WikiLeaks Says

According to documents released by WikiLeaks, a shady trade deal known as the Trade In Services Agreement (TISA) threatens the U.S. Postal Service even more than we thought.

The United States has been negotiating TISA with 50 other countries behind closed doors since 2012. While we don’t know much about the deal, we do know this: TISA regulations would trump the laws of participating nations.

According to documents released in late May, state owned enterprises (SOEs), or government-owned corporations that often operate like a private business but pursue public goals – much like our public Postal Service – would be dismantled and run by multinational corporations.

“This corporatization of public services – to nearly the same extent as demanded by the recently signed TPP – is the next step to privatization of SOEs on the neoliberal agenda,” said a statement by WikiLeaks.

For example, under TISA, the USPS would have to operate according to the same rules as privatized German postal company DHL when shipping express mail – a function that’s outside its “public service” duties of delivering regular mail and parcels, according to WikiLeaks.

“Each party shall endure that any state-owned enterprise that it establishes or maintains when engaging in commercial activities…acts in accordance with commercial considerations in its purchase or supply of services, and in its sale of goods,” WikiLeaks said.

TISA would also ban government entities from reversing privatization. TISA would exempt schools, water utilities and other comparable public sector businesses, from this regulation, but not the Postal Service.