CETA

How “Good Regulatory Practices” In Trade Agreements Erode Protections For The Environment, Public Health, Workers And Consumers

May 24, 2019 Bart-Jaap Verbeek, Somo.nl Educate! CETA, Trade, Trade Deal, TTIP, USMCA

Since the 1995 founding of the World Trade Organization (WTO), environmental NGOs and public interest watchdogs have warned that overly restrictive language in the WTO agreements unfairly constrains the policy options available to governments for conserving animal and plant habitats, eliminating pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and taking toxic chemicals out of our consumer products, among other public interest priorities. While some progress has been made to remedy this imbalance in newer free trade agreements...

EU To Vote On Legality Of Investor State Dispute Settlement In Trade

November 21, 2016 Ante Wessels, www.blog.ffii.org Resist! CETA, European Union (EU), Trade Deal

By Ante Wessels for FFII - Members of the European Parliament want the EU’s Court of Justice to check whether a parallel legal system in the trade agreement with Canada (CETA) is compatible with the EU treaties. The parallel legal system, known as ISDS / ICS, is only accessible to foreign investors. Eighty-nine members tabled a resolution. The Parliament will vote next week, Wednesday 23 November 2016. According to associations of judges (one, two), academics (letter from over 100 law professors) and NGOs (ClientEarth, two pager), the ISDS / ICS parallel legal system is not compatible with the EU treaties.

People’s Revolt Stops Another Corporate Trade Deal CETA

October 26, 2016 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! CETA, Trade Deal

By Lauren McCauley for Common Dreams - With a Monday deadline, the European Union failed to reach consensus on the pending Canada-EU trade agreement, prompting campaigners to celebrate what they declared to be its final demise. After negotiations fell apart late last week, Belgium Prime Minister Charles Michel said Monday that he will not be able to join the other 27 EU nations and sign the Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA) because of entrenched opposition in the region of Wallonia to its pro-corporate provisions.

‘Final Death Blow’ To Pro-Corporate Deal

October 23, 2016 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org Resist! CETA, TPP, Trade, TTIP

By Lauren McCauley for CommonDreams. Dealing what campaigners say is the final "death blow" to the pro-corporate Canada-European Union trade deal, negotiations collapsed on Friday after representatives from the Belgian region of Wallonia refused to agree to a deal that continues ignore democracy in favor of multi-national corporations. Canada's International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland reportedly walked out of talks with the Wallonia delegation, which had ruled to maintain their veto against the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) after the parties reached a stalemate over the controversial Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) system. "We made new significant progress, especially on the agriculture issues, but difficulties remain, specifically on the symbolic issue of arbitration, which is politically extremely important," Wallonia president Paul Magnette told the regional parliament. ISDS permits companies to sue governments over perceived loss of profits due to regulations or other laws. Magnette had told reporters Thursday that the delegation had particular concerns over "matters affecting U.S. companies in Canada which will benefit from the system."

Spain: Thousands Rally Against TTIP And CETA In Madrid

October 17, 2016 Staff, www.ruptly.tv Resist! CETA, Spain, TTIP

By Staff of Ruptly TV - Over 10,000 people rallied against the TTIP, CETA and TISA trans-atlantic free trade agreements in Madrid, Saturday. Both NGO’s and local political groups took part in the huge march to protest against the multinational trade agreements. Protesters carried large banners with messages like 'People and planet over multinational [corporations] - No to poverty, no to inequality, no to TTIP.'

Hundreds Of Thousands March In Germany Against TTIP, CETA

September 20, 2016 Jon Queally, www.commondreams.org Resist! CETA, Germany, Protests, TTIP

By Jon Queally for Common Dreams - Taking aim at both the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and theComprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), European Union deals with the United States and Canada respectively, opponents say the agreements are not really concerned with expanding trade but rather increasing corporate power. "CETA and TTIP threaten environmental and consumer protection for millions of people in Europe and North America," said Jennifer Morgan, co-executive director of Greenpeace International.

Growing Opposition Forces EU Into ‘Humiliating Climbdown’ On CETA

July 6, 2016 Deirdre Fulton, www.commondreams.org Resist! CETA, European Union (EU)

By Deirdre Fulton for Common Dreams - Previously, the deal was slated for a kind of "fast-track" process that would not have required nation-by-nation approval. As such, trade campaigners celebrated Tuesday's news, saying the Commission's reversal reflects growing opposition to CETA as well as the similarly toxic TransAtlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the U.S. and Europe.

Corporate Tax Avoidance Could Get Worse Under Trade Agreements

February 16, 2016 Staff, www.globaljustice.org.uk Educate! CETA, ISDS, Taxes, TTIP

By Staff of Global Justice Now - Corporations are regularly using secretive corporate courts to undermine the ability of countries to pass effective tax legislation, according to a new report,Taxes on trial: How trade deals threaten tax justice. The report warns that if the free trade deal being proposed between the EU and the USA were to come into force, it would massively increase the ability of corporations to sue member states of the EU over measures such as windfall taxes on exceptional profits, or use of taxation as a policy instrument such as a possible ‘sugar tax’.

The Empire Strikes Back: The Return Of The WTO

December 23, 2015 Polly Jones, www.counterpunch.org Educate! CETA, TISA, TPP, WTO

By Polly Jones for Counter Punch - The last time the World Trade Organisation met was in December 2013. Back then neither the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) nor the campaign to stop TTIP had even started. Trade seemed to be off the agenda and after years of stalled negotiations the WTO was expected to slowly become irrelevant. The WTO is meeting again this week but this time in Nairobi and for the first time in Africa, and I will be there. While there are some obvious similarities to previous WTO negotiations – fears that no agreement will be reached and entrenched positions of the global north and south – many other aspects are entirely different.

Polluters’ Paradise

December 10, 2015 Staff, www.corporateeurope.org Educate! CETA, Corporations, pollution, TTIP

By Staff of Corporate Europe Observatory - Proposed special rights for corporations in EU trade deals such as CETA and TTIP threaten to prevent the necessary energy transition to tackle climate change. Polluting corporations are already using the dangerous investor privileges in trade and investment deals to challenge progressive energy policies. Read the full report in English, French and Spanish. Avoiding catastrophic climate change is the defining challenge of our time. If we are to have a chance of preventing extremely dangerous levels of global warming, much of the world’s fossil fuels – oil, coal and gas – must be left in the ground, unexploited.

Daily movement news and resources