Send a Letter to the Editor Demanding Coverage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and How to Fix It

Let Your Local Paper Know What You Expect Them to Cover

With negotiators aiming to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as quickly as possible in 2013, it’s crucial that we raise public awareness. Please send a letter to the editor to your local newspaper to demand coverage of the TPP deal that is swiftly becoming “NAFTA-on-steroids” with the world. In the short term, simply getting a letter run on TPP will help raise awareness of this stealthy pact and also how we can help fix this broken “free trade” model using U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s 21st Century Trade Agreements Act.

It’s easy to do.

You can use one of the sample letters (PDF) and personalize it, or write your own original letter. And you can use the handy form below to send your letter directly to your local papers without having to look up more information.

Check out these tips (PDF) and sample letters (PDF) to help you get your letter to the editor published.

And remember — keep an eye out for your letter and please let us know if it shows up in the paper by emailing us at gtwinfo@citizen.org.

Thank you for helping — together, we’ll get a spotlight shown on TPP!

Step 1 - Select a Recipient

Letter to the Editor

The Letter to the Editor Section is one of the most widely read sections of the newspaper and can reach a large audience. It allows community members to comment on the way issues are being addressed in the media and to influence the topics the local paper may choose to cover. Elected officials often monitor this section of the newspaper and take notice of constituents' opinions.

We've made it easy for you to contact your local newspaper with your views, but editors want to hear from you in your own words.

Look for papers within miles of zip code

Step 2 - Write your message





Click on a point to add it to the letter.
  • Right now, U.S. negotiators are working behind closed doors in Auckland, New Zealand, on a massive agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that would offshore millions of American jobs and flood us with unsafe imported food.

  • Corporate interests have special access to the negotiations, while Congress and the public are locked out.

  • TPP boosters are trying to sell the TPP as a trade agreement that could expand U.S. exports, but recent leaks reveal that actually most of its 29 chapters have little to do with trade and rather would impose limits on government health, safety, labor and environmental standards while granting new rights and powers to large corporations.

  • Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has introduced the 21st Century Trade Agreements Act to stop rogue trade negotiators from pushing provisions in "free trade" agreements which put the profits of foreign corporations before the wellbeing of the American people.

  • Beyond offshoring more jobs, the TPP would open the U.S. up to attack by foreign corporations demanding our hard-earned tax dollars, simply because we pass a law protecting our environment or setting food safety standards that hurts their bottom line.

  • The TPP would ban Buy American procurement preferences.

  • The TPP would increase drug prices by granting new rights to big pharmaceutical firms.

    • Copyright © 2013 Public Citizen. All rights reserved. This Web site is shared by Public Citizen Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation.
    Learn More about the distinction between these two components of Public Citizen.


    Public Citizen, Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation

    Together, two separate corporate entities called Public Citizen, Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation, Inc., form Public Citizen. Both entities are part of the same overall organization, and this Web site refers to the two organizations collectively as Public Citizen.

    Although the work of the two components overlaps, some activities are done by one component and not the other. The primary distinction is with respect to lobbying activity. Public Citizen, Inc., an IRS § 501(c)(4) entity, lobbies Congress to advance Public Citizen’s mission of protecting public health and safety, advancing government transparency, and urging corporate accountability. Public Citizen Foundation, however, is an IRS § 501(c)(3) organization. Accordingly, its ability to engage in lobbying is limited by federal law, but it may receive donations that are tax-deductible by the contributor. Public Citizen Inc. does most of the lobbying activity discussed on the Public Citizen Web site. Public Citizen Foundation performs most of the litigation and education activities discussed on the Web site.

    You may make a contribution to Public Citizen, Inc., Public Citizen Foundation, or both. Contributions to both organizations are used to support our public interest work. However, each Public Citizen component will use only the funds contributed directly to it to carry out the activities it conducts as part of Public Citizen’s mission. Only gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible. Individuals who want to join Public Citizen should make a contribution to Public Citizen, Inc., which will not be tax deductible.

    To become a member of Public Citizen, click here.
    To become a member and make an additional tax-deductible donation to Public Citizen Foundation, click here.