Meet TISA: Another Major Treaty Negotiated In Secret Alongside TPP And TTIP

from the really-good-friends dept

Tue, Apr 29th 2014 3:36am — Glyn Moody

This Wednesday evening there is to be a "Public Information Session and Discussion" (pdf) about TISA: the Trade in Services Agreement. If, like me, you've never heard of this, you might think it's a new initiative. But it turns out that it's been under way for more than a year: the previous USTR, Ron Kirk, informed Congress about it back in January 2013 (pdf). Aside from the occasional laconic press release from the USTR, a page put together by the Australian government, and a rather poorly-publicized consultation by the European Commission last year, there has been almost no public information about this agreement. A cynic might even think they were trying to keep it quiet.

Perhaps the best introduction to TISA comes from the Public Services International (PSI) organization, a global trade union federation representing 20 million people working in public services in 150 countries. Last year, it released a naturally skeptical brief on the proposed agreement (pdf):

At the beginning of 2012, about 20 WTO members (the EU counted as one) calling themselves "The Really Good Friends of Services" (RGF) launched secret unofficial talks towards drafting a treaty that would further liberalize trade and investment in services, and expand "regulatory disciplines" on all services sectors, including many public services. The "disciplines," or treaty rules, would provide all foreign providers access to domestic markets at "no less favorable" conditions as domestic suppliers and would restrict governments' ability to regulate, purchase and provide services. This would essentially change the regulation of many public and privatized or commercial services from serving the public interest to serving the profit interests of private, foreign corporations.

The Australian government's TISA page fills in some details: The TiSA negotiations will cover all services sectors. In addition to improved market access commitments, the negotiations also provide an opportunity to develop new disciplines (or trade rules) in areas where there has been significant developments since the WTO Uruguay Round negotiations. There negotiations will cover financial services; ICT services (including telecommunications and e-commerce); professional services; maritime transport services; air transport services, competitive delivery services; energy services; temporary entry of business persons; government procurement; and new rules on domestic regulation to ensure regulatory settings do not operate as a barrier to trade in services.
If that sounds familiar, it's because very similar language is used to describe TAFTA/TTIP, which aims to liberalize trade and investment, to provide foreign investors with access to domestic markets on the same terms as local suppliers, to limit a government's ability to regulate there by removing "non-tariff barriers" -- described above as "regulatory settings" -- and to use corporate sovereignty provisions to enforce investors' rights.

Those similarities suggest TISA is part of a larger plan that includes not just TAFTA/TTIP, but TPP too, and which aims to cement the dominance of the US and EU in world trade against a background of Asia's growing power. Indeed, it's striking how membership of TISA coincides almost exactly with that of TTIP added to TPP:

The 23 TiSA parties currently comprise: Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Costa Rica, European Union (representing its 28 Member States), Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Republic of Korea, Switzerland,, Turkey and the United States.

Once more, the rising economies of the BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa -- are all absent, and the clear intent, as with TTIP and TPP, is to impose the West's terms on them. That's explicitly recognized by one of the chief proponents of TISA, the European Services Forum: the possible future agreement would for the time being fall short of the participation of some of the leading emerging economies, notably Brazil, China, India and the ASEAN countries. It is not desirable that all those countries would reap the benefits of the possible future agreement without in turn having to contribute to it and to be bound by its rules.
The Australian government's page reveals that there have already been five rounds of negotiations -- all held behind closed doors, of course, just as with TTIP and TPP. The Public Information Session taking place in Geneva this week seems to mark the start of a new phase in those negotiations, at least allowing some token transparency. Perhaps this has been provoked by the growing public anger over the secrecy surrounding TPP and TAFTA/TTIP, and fears that the longer TISA was kept out of the limelight, the worse the reaction would be when people found out about it.

It seems appropriate, then, that the unexpected unveiling of this new global agreement should be greeted not only by an updated and more in-depth critique from the PSI -- "TISA versus Public Services" -- but also the first anti-TISA day of protest. Somehow, I don't think it will be the last.

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Filed Under: corporate sovereignty, isds, secrecy, tafta, tisa, tpp, trade agreement, trade in services agreement, transparency, ttip, ustr

27 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 3:52am

Oh come on, it's almost too easy.

Trade In Secret Agreement.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 4:15am

Re:
Don't you mean Thieves Inside Special Authorities?
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Ninja (profile), 29 Apr 2014 @ 4:37am

They still need some time to adapt to the notion this model is not going to work nearly as effectively as it did 10, 20 years ago. I'm wondering what the next strategy will be!
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 4:45am

Secret deals done in dark alleys used to be considered criminal, now days it is the pinnacle of big money politics.

If your "business" dealings can not stand the light of day then perhaps what you are up to is no good.
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Wig, 29 Apr 2014 @ 4:56am

In ever increasing numbers these kind of treaties prove that politics and laws are focused on the benefit and profits of corporations and companies. These institutions were supposed to be 'by the people, for the people'! Not only for the 1%...

At which point will this become so evident that the people lose their 'willing suspension of disbelief' and the revolution(s) start?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 5:26am

Re:
The next strategy will be the same damn thing, but on the plus side it may receive a different name.

Every edition has always been about scratching someones back. There is a very specific reason terms are written overly broad with special exceptions. Finding out which industry or business got sucked off is harder that way.

Government creates Rules, Laws and Treaties based on 3 things.

In Order of Importance!
1. Self Serving to the Political Class.
2. Business(es) paid them to do it.
3. Public is pissy and usually stupid about something.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 5:32am

First they started in the manufacturing sector with NAFTA. Now they're going after the service sector with TISA. Corporations just won't be satisfied until they're lowered wages in every sector of the economy.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 5:32am

Most transparent administration in history, indeed.
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Michael, 29 Apr 2014 @ 5:42am

Re:
Previous administrations tried to hide their distain from the American people.
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David, 29 Apr 2014 @ 6:49am

Re:
Secret deals done in dark alleys used to be considered criminal, now days it is the pinnacle of big money politics.

Dissolving the apparent contradiction is what we have politicians for in the first place.
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Pixelation, 29 Apr 2014 @ 7:34am

This Insider Shit Again.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 7:42am

Re:
Secret deals done in dark alleys used to be considered criminal

Yeah, I remember that law.

[Former] Section 602:
(a) It shall be unlawful to execute any deal or to transact any part of any deal, in any alleyway,
�� (1) between sunset and sunrise, or
�� (2) whenever visibility is less than one-tenth mile.
(b) Any person who violates (a) shall be guilty of a class IV misdemeanor.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 7:43am

and i suppose this was kicked off by the USA, as usual? seems to me that every single 'trade agreement' is instigated in the USA, by the USA, for the USA! regardless of what happens to other countries, the USA always wants to be top dog! the sentence about China, for example, getting benefits from trade, without sharing it and without having to be subdued by other countries rules says it all, really! selfish fuckers even want to take a share of something from another country when it has actually contributed nothing! typical USA!!
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 9:44am

Has the time yet come to take back the reins of government, by any means necessary?
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 9:46am

If its news to people that follow this blog, they're doing quite a job keeping it under wraps.
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That One Guy (profile), 29 Apr 2014 @ 10:46am

Re:
Indeed, why, it's almost as though, despite defending such 'trade agreements' as being good for the countries and the people in them, they know that if the public was actually able to read what was in them before they were locked in, they'd object to them, strongly.
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Mike (not that Mike, the other Mike), 29 Apr 2014 @ 10:52am

I'm convinced they are using a shotgun method. Fire all these treaties and hope one sticks.
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Mason Wheeler (profile), 29 Apr 2014 @ 10:56am

BRICS? Wow. Anyone who still thinks China is a "rising economy" is not paying attention. What they are is a (soon to be former) immense bubble economy. They've spent years building up the biggest, most ridiculous real estate bubble in history, and it's in the early stages of collapsing right now. Remember 2008? That was nothing. Just watch...
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gorehound (profile), 29 Apr 2014 @ 1:52pm

HAR HAR.................the Oligarchs fed China for many decades.If China got big it was all because of those type of greedbags.
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Jim, 29 Apr 2014 @ 2:32pm

Interesting...
This appears to be a backdoor way of increasing outsourcing in areas like medicine and law. Perhaps, insurance companies may able to force people to go overseas to get significant amounts of treatment, or so-called "charter schools" could be set up to have teachers lecturing over videoconference equipment from India (what could go wrong there?), just to speculate on possible ramifications. It's going to be interesting watching some other people get nailed by this for once, and to see the true end product of unfettered libertarian economics.
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Kronomex, 29 Apr 2014 @ 4:40pm

Sigh, our Australian gummint: the bicycle stand for the corporations and US gummint.
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Anonymous Coward, 29 Apr 2014 @ 4:45pm

Re: Re:
Where is the claim it is a law?
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OrganizedThoughtCrime (profile), 30 Apr 2014 @ 4:39pm

Re: Re:
The real humor is that somewhere, in some small town or county, that probably is an actual law or ordinance.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Apr 2014 @ 4:42pm

Re:
Your comment ties in perfectly with central banking.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Apr 2014 @ 4:43pm

Re: Re:
:) But we have to pass it to find out what's in it!
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Anonymous Coward, 1 May 2014 @ 9:49pm

Re:
The Liberal Party:
Hey, idiot voters! We're gonna tie you up and let all our foreign friends gang-rape you. It's for you own good, honest

The ALP:
We're going to let them rape you, but we'll use nicer rope and they've promised to think about maybe using some lube. See, we're looking out for you.
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davidbarcomb, 24 Nov 2014 @ 4:27pm

Re: Re:
You Sir, is a genius
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