What’s going on here? Secrecy breeds the opportunities for this kind of spin.
Advertisement
The original TPP negotiations were launched in 2010 involving the US, Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, Malaysia, Mexico and Canada, with Japan later joining the talks.
Canada now exports about $158 billion annually of those goods to the other 11 countries involved in the talks, and that figure would likely increase after the elimination of tariffs. If your business is dominant on a world-wide scale, like American agriculture, you’ll probably win in any trade dispute.
He said officials had gone as far as they could and trade ministers were needed at the table if the talks were to be successfully concluded.
Canada is only weeks away from an election in which seats in the dairy-producing provinces will be crucial.
Concluding the talks, which would create a massive free-trade zone touching four continents, hinges on the participants’ ability to overcome deep divisions on opening up trade in autos and dairy products – both sectors of crucial interest to Canada. A TPP without Canada would hamper the competitiveness of 43,000 canola farmers and the entire value chain – putting at risk $1.2 billion in annual exports to Japan.
Council of Canadians chairperson Maude Barlow comments, “Another bad trade deal!”
Reportedly, Levin will pay a crucial role in the TPP ratification process in Congress.
Now, as you know, Mr. President, I was an original author of the legislation that renewed Trade Promotion Authority, or TPA, earlier this year.
The September 22 summary of TPP objectives from the U.S. Trade Representative does not mention the words “dairy” or “agriculture”.
Apparently, the work on this deal began straight after the last TPP round failure in Maui. “The TPP will reportedly also place a few of the “most severe intellectual property rules ever demanded in global trade”, including strict price control measures and enhanced investor rights that would permit Big Pharma to sue governments when they expect profits will be undermined by government policy”.
“Decisions to be made on whether we have such a system or not, are decisions we want Canadians to take, not farmers to take”.
One major issue holding up agreement on the terms of the TPP is that of dairy, Elms said.
The Levin memo picks up those concerns. Mulcair has also been clear that Canada’s auto sector must be protected in the TPP negotiations. Moreover, the United States can withhold certification of New Zealand’s compliance until they believe they’ve extracted everything from us they can.
SENIOR leaders from the National Farmers Federation have travelled to Atlanta, Georgia in the U.S. this week to engage in talks pivotal to closing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) that will help slash tariffs on agricultural exports into key Asian markets. I think our negotiators understand these concerns.
The TPP has been a controversial matter in a number of countries.
At a campaign event in Winnipeg, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said that there should be more transparency when it comes to trade negotiations. USA corporations have also gotten in on the action: “Philip Morris is trying to use ISDS to stop Uruguay from implementing new tobacco regulations meant to cut smoking rates”. These ideas are embodied in the recently enacted TPA law.
Advertisement
“(Japan is) the third largest economy in the world”, he added. But the President acknowledged that “the politics around trade are tough”. Appleton was later interviewed by Kim Hill on RNZ, where he shredded a local academic apologist for the MAI. He’s worked for corporates, and for protest groups. These types of mechanisms exist in other global trade agreements.
