*[Enwl-eng] NWO UPDATE: Economic Integration: Towards a North America – EU Transatlantic Free Trade Zone

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Economic Integration: Towards a North America -
EU Transatlantic Free Trade Zone
Final Push for a Canada-EU CETA and the Coming NAFTA-EU Free
Trade Zone
By Dana Gabriel
Global Research, March 26, 2013
beyourownleader.blogspot.ca
Pressure is mounting on Canada to finish up a long-delayed trade deal with
the EU.
Despite outstanding issues that still must be settled, there is a final
push to try and
complete an agreement this summer. If both sides are able to secure a deal,
it would
lay the groundwork for the proposed U.S.-EU trade pact. There is the
possibility that
the U.S.-EU transatlantic trade talks could also include the other NAFTA
partners
and maybe even other countries. Mexico has already shown interest in
joining and if
Canada can't put the final touches on their own agreement with the EU, they
might
also be part of the negotiations. This would facilitate plans for a coming
NAFTA-EU
free trade zone and the formation of a transatlantic economic union.
After almost four years, negotiations between Canada and the European Union
(EU)
on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) are bogged down in
the final stages. Both sides have missed numerous deadlines to wrap things
up. There
is uncertainty when or if CETA will even get done. Prime Minister Stephen
Harper
recently tried to boost trade talks. He acknowledged that considerable
progress
towards a free trade deal has already been achieved, but admitted that
there are still
important issues that need to be resolved before any agreement can be
finalized.
Harper also explained that it would be to Canada's advantage to sign a deal
with
Europe before the U.S. does. He made the comments while meeting with French
Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault who was in Ottawa for an official visit.
As part of
a joint statement, both leaders said they looked forward to a successful
conclusion to
CETA negotiations. Before his trip to Canada, Ayrault was sent a letter by
civil
society groups voicing opposition to CETA and the investor protection
chapter that
would grant corporations the power to challenge government policies that
restrict
their profits.
There are key issues which remain stumbling blocks and are preventing
Canada and
the EU from reaching an agreement. Academic researcher and law professor
Michael
Geist argued that, "with the EU the stronger of the two parties, it doesn't
see any
urgency to compromise. In fact, with a growing number of EU negotiations
(including talks with the U.S.), compromise with Canada may undermine its
position
in more economically important deals." He also laid out different
possibilities for the
future of CETA. This includes Canada continuing to hold out hope for a
compromise
which thus far has failed. They could cave to the EU demands, but this
might hurt the
Conservatives chances in the 2015 election. Geist pointed out another
scenario which
would involve Canada joining the U.S.-EU talks and CETA being replaced by
the
Transatlantic Free Trade Area (TAFTA). He noted, "The argument for TAFTA
would be that Canada is consolidating its negotiations into major agreements
covering the Pacific (TPP) and Atlantic (TAFTA) to ensure that it is part
of two
potential large trading blocks. The danger with this approach is that
Canada becomes
a bit player in both negotiations with even less leverage to promote
Canadian
interests."
During a speech given in November of last year, EU Trade Commissioner Karel
De
Gucht called on Mexico and the EU to modernize their existing trade
agreement.
Glyn Moody of techdirt recently reported that Mexico is now looking to join
the
U.S.-EU transatlantic deal. This would be one way for the EU and Mexico to
upgrade
trade relations. Moody emphasized that the U.S. strategy is to, "make TPP
the
defining international agreement for the entire Pacific region. TAFTA
obviously aims
to do the same for the Atlantic. As well as establishing the U.S. as the
key link
between the giant TPP and TAFTA blocs, this double-headed approach would
also
isolate the main emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India and above all
China."
Just like the U.S. dominated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Mexico and
Canada
could also be a part of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
talks. This
would make it a true NAFTA-EU trade bloc-level negotiations. There might be
an
opportunity for other countries to join as Turkey is also pushing to be
included in the
trade deal.
In a recent article, Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians described how
CETA
negotiations have laid the groundwork for a U.S.-EU free trade zone. She
insisted
that it would be a mistake for all three NAFTA countries to be a part of a
transatlantic agreement. Barlow warned about some of the same dangers found
in
CETA that the U.S. could face in their own trade deal with the EU. She
stressed how
opening up local procurement to the EU should be of great concern to U.S.
states and
municipal governments.
In Canada, a number of municipalities have passed motions demanding that
they be
excluded from the procurement rules in CETA which would restrict local
hiring and
purchasing initiatives. Barlow also cautioned that an investor protection
chapter like
the one in CETA would allow European multinationals to sue for any
potential profit
losses related to U.S. government policies and regulations. This would be
worse than
NAFTA's Chapter 11 and as a result, the U.S. would lose more sovereign
rights. The
Australian government has already stopped the practice of including
investor-state
dispute resolution procedures in trade agreements and now it's time for
other
countries follow suit.
In Canada, opposition to CETA continuous to grow. There are deep concerns
over
the expansion of NAFTA-like investor rights, the dismantling of supply
management
in agriculture and the negative impact that CETA would have on local public
procurement. It could also serve to further empower Big Pharma by extending
monopoly drug patents which would lead to higher costs. Just like any of
the other
so-called next-generation trade and investment deals, CETA is based on the
failed
NAFTA model with the same false promises. These secretive and binding
international agreements are not really about trade, but are in fact
designed to reshape
regulatory and policy frameworks to further increase the rights of
corporations and
investors.
Whatever happens with CETA will greatly affect how the U.S. and EU approach
their own trade deal. Moving forward, the merging transatlantic partnership
will
eventually culminate in the creation of a NAFTA-EU free trade zone. With
the push
for deeper international economic integration, the U.S. is positioning
itself to become
the lynchpin between the world's largest trading blocs.
Dana Gabriel is an activist and independent researcher. He writes about
trade,
globalization, sovereignty, security, as well as other issues. Contact:
beyouro...@hotmail.com. Visit his blog at Be Your Own Leader
--



--
CAMPAIGN
www.peaceinspace.org



From: "CAMPAIGN" <pe...@peaceinspace.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 10:09 PM
Subject: NWO UPDATE: Economic Integration: Towards a North America – EU
Transatlantic Free Trade Zone




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