The comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA), now in the final stage of negotiations between Canada and the European Union, presents Canadians with dubious trade benefits and a number of serious downsides. The challenge for Canada’s pattern of trade is to move beyond a reliance on natural resource exports by developing its high technology sectors. Roughly speaking, Canada presently exchanges gold and diamonds for EU pharmaceuticals and motor vehicles, an imbalance that will only be reinforced by CETA.
International trade and investment, deep integration
Recent leaks from the negotiations between Canada and EU confirm concerns that a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) would infringe on Manitoba’s ability to promote economic development and advance public interests. The proposed precedent-setting agreement would expand investor rights and extend the reach of international economic agreements, fully covering for the first time the activities of provincial and municipal governments.
To date, 38 municipalities have passed motions expressing concern about the closed door negotiations for a comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) going on between the EU and Canada.
Ottawa – L’Accord économique et commercial global (AECG) proposé entre le Canada et l’Union européenne et d’autres traités sur le commerce et l’investissement menacent la viabilité des pêches et des collectivités de pêcheurs, selon un nouveau rapport du Centre canadien de politiques alternatives (CCPA).
Ottawa – The proposed Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and other trade and investment treaties threaten the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities, says a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The governments of Canada and the European Union (EU) are in the final stages of negotiating a sweeping agreement that would impose unprecedented constraints on federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal governments’ capacity to put public interests ahead of corporate interests. The agreement goes much further than traditional free trade agreements. It will not just remove tariffs and liberalize goods and services trade, but will also cover labour mobility, standards, government purchasing power, and corporate and intellectual property rights.
After close consideration of the costs and benefits, our new report on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) concludes that the agreement’s benefits for Nova Scotia are being oversold, while its costs and consequences are minimized or even ignored.
Halifax—Close consideration of the probable costs and benefits of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (“CETA”) for Nova Scotia reveals that the agreement's benefits are being oversold, while its costs and consequences are minimized or even ignored.
Last month’s over-the-top “celebrations” of the 25th anniversary of Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan’s signing of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement seemed strained, to my mind. The self-congratulation and back-patting struck me as rather overdone, contrived even. Remember, this wasn’t the 25th anniversary of the FTA’s implementation (that won’t occur until Jan.
The pending takeover of Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen by the state-owned Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation is attracting a lot of attention. There are legitimate questions regarding whether this foreign takeover is in the national interest or to the “net benefit” of Canada. By contrast, the Canada-China Foreign Investment Protection Agreement (FIPA) announced by the Prime Minister in February and signed in early September has received much less scrutiny.