Tauranga is among 22 New Zealand cities holding rallies on Saturday to protest against the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

The Tauranga rally begins at 11am at The Edgewater Fan.

Scenes from the earlier anti TPPA protest in November.

Opposition to the agreement, which is being negotiated in secret, say the TPPA gives foreign corporations the right to sue sovereign states for decisions that adversely affect them commercially.

An example being given is Bayer, BASF and Syngenta suing the European commission over its two-year ban on neonicotinoids that are suspected of causing bees in Europe to die-off.

New Zealand First wants to ban the New Zealand government from signing any treaty which gives foreign corporates the right to seek compensation, if they believe New Zealand laws affect their business.

It also slams the national government for secretly negotiating an agreement that goes well beyond being a simple trade agreement.

Because it is secret, the only publicly available information comes from whistle blowers Julian Assange at Wikileaks and Edward Snowden.

The leaks from 2013 show the New Zealand government and others in the 11-country agreement are actively opposing the US on a number of key issues, including intellectual property, and the purchase of generic drugs.

They also dispute provisions requiring internet service providers to enforce copyright on behalf of foreign corporations, including closing down their customers' accounts and overseas royalty payments on all books, music and movies for 20 years longer than at present.

Also enforced is the restriction of cheaper parallel importing, imposing penalties for breaking ‘digital locks' such as regional zones on lawful DVDs, and allowing plants, animals and ‘diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals' to be patented.

There is also dispute over agricultural chemicals.

Saturday's national day of action against the TPPA is co-ordinated by ‘It's Our Future'. It claims the TPPA, which is expected to be signed in June, will:

• Allow foreign investors to challenge NZ laws
• Make medicines more expensive by preventing the purchase of generic drugs by Pharmac.
• Stop stricter GMO labelling
• Override Te Tiriti o Waitangi
• Push more Kiwi jobs overseas
• Undercut moves to protect the environment
• Prevent new limits on mining, drilling & fracking
• Fuel financial crises
• Lock in asset sales
• Stop "buy kiwi made" policies
• Reduce internet freedom