A surprising casualty is emerging in the trade debate between the United States and European Union: Canada.
Almost overnight, the pact struck between Ottawa and Brussels in September has been delayed to early 2016. There is little chance the deal, which covers nearly €80 million of annual trade and was four years in the making, will take effect until 2017.
“ISDS” became a buzzword in current negotiations between the US and EU. Wrangling over the Investor State Dispute Settlement process — arbitrary courts of lawyers from both sides that help settle rows — now threatens to upend Canada’s own deal.
“I’m worried about the political opposition” in Europe, said Jayson Myers, president and chief executive of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, a trade association representing about 10,000 companies. With CETA, “important market entry costs and regulatory restrictions will be dropped, which have held many Canadian companies back from developing their business on the other side of the Atlantic, and EU enterprises vice-versa.”
When Brussels and Ottawa started negotiating more than five years ago, most politicians did not know what ISDS meant, and hardly anyone but a few legal specialists paid attention to this section of the agreement.
That changed when Brussels started negotiating with the US in July 2013. A possible free-trade agreement between regions that exchange about €826 billion in goods and services a year, turned ISDS into a hotly debated issue.
“Everyone is aware of this mechanism now, and many Parliamentarians do not want it as it is right now,” said Rory Macrae, a partner at the public affairs agency
g+, which specializes in trade issues.
The European Parliament is currently debating a draft resolution demanding major changes to the US agreement, formally known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
As things stand now, the make-or-break moment could come next spring. The Canadian agreement will need to pass the European Parliament and most likely also the 28 national parliaments.
Until then, many obstacles lay ahead.
Myers, head of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, predicted: “If Europe and Canada cannot conclude a deal, then there is very little chance that Europe and the US can either.”
Oh, Canada: Surprise loser in US-EU trade deal – POLITICO
