Row over CETA free trade deal escalates

The row between Canada and Germany over the future of the stalled CETA free trade deal rumbles on after Germany said it wanted to re-open the talks.

The row between Canada and Germany over the future of the stalled CETA free trade deal rumbles on after Germany said it wanted to re-open the talks.

The new EU Commissioner for Trade, Sweden’s Cecilia Malmstroem, recently caused confusion over the deal, saying first the Investor State Protection clauses would be taken out, later retracting that statement saying she was using and ‘old draft’ and then recently saying the clauses were ‘frozen’.

Now Malmstroem says the deal, if the CETA deal negoitiations are re-opened, ‘will fall apart’.

In an interview in Germany’s lower house of parliament, Canada’s chief negotiator, Steve Verheul, said Canada wanted the ISDS embedded in the free trade deal ‘to stay in’, where he was due to ‘explain Canada’s position’.

But Germany’s Sigmar Gabriel, a Social Democrat, said he wanted the ISDS clause out before any ratification. Gabriel has blamed the European Commission for agreeing to the CETA clauses back in 2011, and said Germany must nowwork with its EU partners to have the ISDS removed as domestic laws in Germnay and Canada are adequate to address investor disputes.

In Germany, as in the rest of the EU, there is momentum building against the CETA deal which is seen as an outrider for the USA – EU trade deal TTIP.

German chancellor Angela Merkel now faces major division in her coalition government as well as growing public opposition, including opposition from unions who see the CETA deal as undermining their strong employment laws and social partnership structures.

Tony Burke is assistant general secretary of Unite

5 Responses to “Row over CETA free trade deal escalates”

  1. wj

    The European Union is a democratically elected institution and I am sure that they have our best interests at heart.

    I wish that the anti-EU xenophobes would ease up on this destructive dialogue and just leave those with the experience and know-how to get on with it.

  2. JoeDM

    “The European Union is a democratically elected institution and I am sure that they have our best interests at heart.”

    LOL

    What planet are you on?

  3. JoeDM

    CETA and TTIP are both designed to diminish national powers and enhance the power of the EU. The ISDS clauses give multinational global corporations huge power with respect to coercing national governments into supporting multinational company’s anti-competative and monopolistic actions.

  4. Leon Wolfeson

    The UK government, in fact, is a major advocate of those clauses.

    It’s in the EU Parliament where the chance for UK voters representatives to defeat it lies.

    But hey, facts.

  5. David E.H. Smith

    But, Will CHINA Support “PUTIN (BRICS); The WHITE KNIGHT”?

    It will be good for, not only the NON shareholders of the enterprises that will be generated by the on-going global “cooperation” of corporate treaties, agreements, partnerships, et al, including the China – Canada Investment Treaty, The Trans Pacific Partnership, the EU – Canada CETA,
    but,
    for the potential shareholders, as well,
    who are quite interested to know if President Xi Jinping (China) will support Russia as a co-member of B.R.I.C.S. when President Putin uses his potential role as “The
    White Knight”.

    And, while President Putin’s potential support as “The WHITE KNIGHT” in the development of the CETAgreement, et al, litigation below can dramatically off-set the hundreds of billions of dollars due to the present & future sanctions levelled by American led, et al, corporations & financial institutions via their governments’ signing their global
    corporate economic treaties/”arrangements”,
    and the potential for making trillions
    of dollars for the Russian economy over the next 30 – 40 years & beyond,
    are the citizens (SHAREHOLDERS & NON shareholders) of Germany & JAPAN just being prudent in wanting to wait for the outcome of:

    1) the submission to The SUPREME COURT of CANADA & the highest court in Germany, et al, to make their findings regarding “The Submission”:

    “The SHAREHOLDERS & Corporations of AMERICA, et al
    v
    the harmless Canadian NON shareholders, et al”?

    and

    2) “The MERKEL Letter”?
    (see; davidehsmith.wordpress.com )

    Have the federal representatives of
    the nations that are the potential signatories of CETA, TPP, et al, willingly provided the NON shareholders of China, Canada, Europe, the Trans Pacific nations, et al, with the aforementioned information? Are the federal representatives, et al, depriving the NON shareholders of Canada, et al, of the due diligence information that enables the family of the NON shareholders of Canada, et al, to make informed decisions regarding their financial planning?

    And, would a reasonable person conclude by a preponderance of the evidence, &/or, beyond a reasonable doubt, that these documents, et al, demonstrate that the SHAREHOLDERS of AMERICA, CANADA , the EU & Trans Pacific nations, et al,really do not care which NON shareholders pay them the punitive penalties, etc., by way of their secret (“Death-Star Chamber”) TRIBUNALS, as long as its not the SHAREHOLDERS who pay & not their corporations regardless of which country the corporations:

    1) operating from,

    2) maintain their headquarters,

    3) use to do their cyber banking,
    accounting, “taxation”, etc.

    &

    4) et al?

    And, re; the CHINA – Canada Investment Treaty, is it understandable why the “coveted” Hong Kong investor & his associates are “concerned” with the aforementioned findings of The SUPREME COURT of CANADA, et al, & the effects of the findings, et al, on the EU, AMERICA, the Trans Pacific nations, et al, treaties with CHINA, et al?

    David E.H. Smith
    – Researcher
    – “Qui tam…”
    ******
    For more Information & Questions re; The Relationship between Human (Nature) Rights & Economics by way of the C-CI Treaty, the CET Agreement, TPP, et al, and The WAD Accord
    &
    List of RECENT ARTICLES, LETTERS & NOTIFICATIONS by DEHS.
    see;
    davidehsmith.wordpress.com

    (President Putin can be contacted at; http://eng.letters.kremlin.ru/send)

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