Terran Commerce Authority (TCA)
Overview
The Terran Commerce Authority is the governmental body responsible for regulating space commerce, including belt operations. Established in 2089 as part of the international framework governing extra-terrestrial resource extraction, the TCA has legal authority over worker protections, safety standards, and corporate compliance. In practice, it’s a captured regulator – its leadership drawn from industry, its enforcement chronically underfunded, its effectiveness limited by design.
The TCA represents the gap between official rules and actual power.
Structure
- Headquarters: Geneva, Earth
- Belt Office: Ceres Station (12 staff, mostly administrative)
- Director: Yolanda Marchetti (former TRC VP of Operations, appointed 2177)
- Budget: Approximately 3% of what would be needed for effective enforcement
Stated Responsibilities
The TCA is officially tasked with contract review and approval, safety standard enforcement, worker complaint investigation, and corporate licensing.
Actual Functions
In practice, the TCA rubber-stamps contracts drafted by corporations, investigates complaints in ways that find no actionable violations, provides legal cover for corporate operations, and periodically issues reports that acknowledge problems and recommend “further study.”
History
The TCA was created by the Geneva Accords of 2089, when multinational agreement was needed to establish legal frameworks for space resource extraction. Early TCA leadership included genuine regulators who took worker protection seriously. The erosion began in the 2130s as corporations recognized that controlling the regulator was cheaper than complying with regulations.
The revolving door – executives moving between industry and regulatory positions – became explicit policy by the 2160s. The current director’s appointment from TRC leadership barely generated comment.
Current State
The TCA maintains the appearance of oversight while providing none. Its belt office processes paperwork and forwards worker complaints to corporate review, where they disappear. Its Earth headquarters produces annual reports documenting concerning trends, then does nothing about them.
What Workers Call It
Workers have their own names for the Terran Commerce Authority. “The useless suits.” “Geneva” – a dismissive reference to the distant headquarters. “The rubber stamp.” The corporation, with less irony than you might expect, calls them “our regulatory partners.”