CETA's Festering Wound: Corporate Sovereignty
from the just-chop-it-out dept
Remember CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU? Even though the text was "celebrated" back in October 2014, it is still not ready to be presented for possible ratification. As Techdirt has been covering, it's pretty clear that the problem area is the corporate sovereignty chapter, because of concerns about the huge power it grants to Canadian (and US) corporations. First there were hints that Angela Merkel wanted the so-called "investor-state dispute settlement" (ISDS) mechanism changed. Then France said the same -- twice. Most recently, the EU commissioner responsible for trade and trade agreements, Cecilia Malmström, indicated that it wouldn't be possible re-open the corporate sovereignty chapter, or to move away from "classic" ISDS to the re-branded version known as the Investment Court System (ICS), which the European Commission is pushing in an attempt to head off growing opposition to the whole idea.
However, the arrival of a new government in Canada seems to have changed the situation once more, as Politico.eu reports:
With the new liberal government in power, there is hope for more flexibility to amend the [CETA] agreement via legal scrubbing, while not officially reopening it.
There are obviously some mixed signals there: yes, Canada is willing to tweak the details of the ISDS chapter, but no, it isn't prepared to go all the way to the Investment Court System -- probably in part because it doesn't exist yet, and its details remain sketchy. It's by no means clear how this will all work out in practise, but it does confirm that corporate sovereignty remains a festering wound in the CETA text, as it does in TAFTA/TTIP, where formal discussions about ISDS and/or ICS haven't even started (pdf).
"We’re prepared to work with the EU to work in the direction of an international court for investment disputes," Canadian negotiator Verheul said. "But if the EU is going to press us to adopt an appellate mechanism that would certainly involve quite a bit of further discussion … We recognize that's a longer-term exercise."
Follow me @glynmoody on Twitter or identi.ca, and +glynmoody on Google+
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: canada, ceta, corporate sovereignty, eu, isds, trade
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Canada does not want to bend over for the EUROcrats Kingdom?
Hm, it is Nailgun then?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
One person's festering sore is another's crown jewel
"We can do that?" No, you can't. The whole point of dedicated negotiators is that the industry can work with predictable slush fund estimates and that precludes any last-minute considerations of third-party interests such as the people. It would not be cost-efficient if you had to bribe everybody you expect to suck out: it all has to add up.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: One person's festering sore is another's crown jewel
Los Angeles County Supervisor Antonovich comes to the affected; Canyon Country, Valencia, Santa Clarita, Saugas, Newhall, Agua Dulce, Acton in his district and says the CUP (Conditional Use Permit) for one 88,000 Lb.truck with twin trailers every 2 minutes, 24/7, for the first 10 years.... and than one a minute for the second 10 years... won't happen "if we don't want it".
"Fines" or micro dust will be controlled, or not, by spraying a million gallons of well water a day, OUR water.
An 18 inches thick report of EPA charts and pages is distributed.
Jobs are waiting to be filled.
Nothing is offered for traffic or roadway compensation.
We claim we will never see the stars again. Our children will never play outdoors again, except during the rain.
(The people of South Central never see stars. Their children can't play outside their door, rain or not.)
A second 18 inch thick report of EPA charts and pages is distributed.
Santa Clarita puts up $1.3million to stop the new operation.
TMC is bought by CEMEX (Mexico) in late 2000. Antonivich becomes George Kerby, the invisible debutante http://homepage.ntlworld.com/forgottenfutures/smith/topper2/top2-07.htm .
We're monotheistic in the 5TH district, no other layer of politician exist in "unincorporated" areas of Los Angeles County, god's; (ie. Antonivich's) trusty Tonto retires, replaced by a likable Italian Ms.
CEMEX sues LA County Board Of Supervisors for $2or3 billion in "lost profits".
This new BIG pit will undercut the hundred LOCAL gravel pits (within a market area that includes Arizona) and will revolutionize gravel marketing, moving gravel out of the mom and pop "era" into economy of scale per the 21centry. No more one-for-you, one-for-me haggling for peagravel.
A three judge panel of persons knowledgeable in the industry under NAFTRA will now decide.
Health, quality-of-life, "stikle fish" specie loss, Diesel fumes are moot and specious arguments.
I spend six months putting a concert together on both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego border, dragging people from 'Global Phobia' in TJ, 'Global Exchange' in SF, 'AFSC' (Quakers) in Tucson to complement the Quebec City North American Free Trade Agreement events in April 2001. 2,000 kids show up in San Diego. I drag myself out of post-protest debate in a borrowed hottub on Monday too a 8:30am meeting of the Los Angeles Board Of Supervisors on Tues. morning back in LA.
650 hard nose Republicans and Libertarians are in a room that might see twenty in the audience on an average Tuesday.
Three or four of us knew that we were staring Free Trade in the face.
No one blinked till 2015; http://scvnews.com/2015/08/28/feds-cancel-cemex-soledad-mining-contract/
BEGIN
http://www.vision.com/c ase-studies/it/cemex-patrimonio-hoy.aspx
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
We're waiting for certain American politicians - the ones who still believe that 9/11 hijackers came through Canada - to notice this and go ballistic.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Last time I checked the "EU army" was barely adequate for local defense; 'power projection' would be a challenge. Don't be surprised if they ask the US for assistance, though presently the US is having it's own power projection challenges.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
EUs army is very insufficient to defend Europe and to use it would require consent from all countries in EU. In reality EUs "army" as it stands will never be relevant for anything so might as well save the money.
There are individual countries in the EU area with established 'power projections' abroad, but they are very specialized and has nothing to do with EU...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Wow, are you ever naive (or uninformed). Corporations buy the laws they want by donating a few grand to politicians' campaign funding (they sell out pretty cheaply). The "government" of which you speak is the playground of politicians. The citizens of which you speak are are ignored when possible, herded when necessary, and humored and ignored otherwise.
The present Liberal gov't is the other face of Canada's always ruling party, Liberals and Conservatives (sort of like the US' Democrats and Republicans respectively). They both want pretty much the same thing from their corporate masters (money), and now that the Conservatives have pretty much tarnished themselves for the moment, it's the Liberals' turn. "Plus ca change, ..." Don't expect the Liberals to do anything the Conservatives wouldn't. They won't. They just have different best friends, and many of the same friends.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Since the nineties those two groups have become an inevitability. Before that everybody was capable of suggesting laws and calculating economic impacts. Today the lawyers are needed to avoid laws overlapping and to keep international obligations - there is simply too much work in that today. For economists, you need their models if you want to sell anything politically. Keynes would turn in his grave if he saw the complexity of New Keynesian- and Neo-classical models today.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
In the old democracy of the 1900s, you elected people to make decissions with the goal of improving the society.
Today we are electing ambassadors to administrate the system and make decissions with the goal of improving the economy...
Don't get me wrong: We still get a variety of all sorts of crazy come election time. But as soon as they get responsibility, they are forced to deal with the reality of the situation and compromise.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Today we are electing politicians who pander to money and we have a corporate controlled system. Meanwhile the Rich, who tend to control said companies, being afraid of losing power when China becomes the powerhouse are hoarding wealth and screwing everyone.
FTFY
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
ISDS Festering?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]