Photos: Hundreds Rally in Beverly Hills Against Obama's Trade Policy

Hundreds of Californians rallied in the streets of Beverly Hills Monday afternoon and night calling for an end to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Free Trade Agreement, while President Barack Obama and party leaders Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid attended a Democratic fundraiser at Ervin "Magic" Johnson's house.

“Four years into these secret negotiations, the secret is out. The TPP is a trade agreement of, by and for the one percent,” said protest organizer activist Lauren Steiner. “The president has clearly done a one-eighty on all his campaign promises regarding trade. The question is whether members of Congress are going to follow him or stand with their constituents."

Obama also attended a fundraiser Monday at the home of Saban Capital Group Chairman Haim Saban benefiting efforts to elect more Democrats to the House.

The environmental and progressive groups marched in Beverly Hills against the TPP, a regional trade agreement, in connection with the fundraisers. The partnership includes the United States, Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, New Zealand, Australia, Peru and Chile. Opponents of the partnership claim it will undermine food and environmental protections in the United States.

The Beverly Hills protest was planned by individuals connected to No War with Syria Coalition and Occupy Venice Beach. Grassroots activists, concerned citizens and members of civil society organizations listened Monday to speakers from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Organic Consumers Association, Citizens Trade Coalition, Health Care for All and the Communications Workers of America.

"People are sick of politicians in the pocket of big business who continue to push these corporate power grabs disguised as trade agreements," Steiner added. "We are calling on Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to immediately abandon the TPP, and focus instead on the work that needs to be done to improve
the health of our economy and our environment.”

The 20th major round of negotiations on the 12-nation TPP concluded last week in Salt Lake City, Utah, without a final agreement. There were protests there as well.

According to protest organizers, trade ministers from each of the countries involved will be meeting again from Dec. 7 to 10 in Singapore in another attempt to conclude the 29-chapter pact, which covers not only tariffs and quotas, but also financial regulations, food safety standards, energy exports, medicine patents, Internet protocols, government procurement and more.

"Anyone that cares about promoting sustainable agriculture, labeling genetically engineered foods, or protecting food safety, should oppose the TPP," said Zack Kaldveer, a spokesperson for the Organic Consumers Association. "This secret trade deal would grant a few transnational corporations unprecedented power to undermine the health and well-being of consumers and the planet in the pursuit of profits."

Labor, environmental, consumer, public health and family farm organizations have all expressed serious reservations about the direction of the TPP, if not outright opposition. While the administration has kept its proposals for the TPP a tightly guarded secret, leaked texts first published by WikiLeaks and others have been criticized by a range of typically left-leaning constituency groups, according to Steiner and other protest organizers.

"The copyright enforcement provisions in the TPP pose a huge threat to a free and open Internet and imposes harmful restrictions on how users can use their digital devices, “ said Maira Sutton from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "Hollywood industries have heavily influenced the TPP negotiations to strengthen copyright restrictions, in ways that will censor content and stifle digital innovation."

"The lack of transparency and the degree of secrecy surrounding the process for negotiating the TPP raise serious concerns about an agreement that will affect 40 percent of the world's economy, and necessitate a thorough evaluation by Congress,” added Lance Simmens, California Director of Citizens Trade Coalition. “Recent revelations by Wikileaks suggest that these concerns are warranted and that this agreement should not move forward."

On Tuesday, Obama conducted a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Hancock Park home of Marta Kauffman, a co-creator of the 1994-2004 NBC comedy "Friends."

The trip is Obama's 16th to the Los Angeles area since taking office. All but three of his trips have included political fundraisers. He has made 10 trips to the area solely for fundraising.

What are your thoughts about the TPP?