One can hear the cry ringing through the boardrooms of capital: "Free trade is dead! Long live free trade!"
Think the ideas behind the TPP, the TTIP or the so-called 'free trade' regime are buried just because Trump scrapped them?
Sadly, no. Definitely, no.
TISA is the backup plan in case the TPP and the TTIP don't come to fruition. Perhaps fearful that the recent spotlight put on 'free trade' deals might derail TISA as it derailed TPP, the governmental trade offices negotiating it have not announced the next negotiating date.
The closest toward any meaningful information found was the Australian government's bland statement that the "Parties agreed to reconvene in 2017."
The Trade In Services Agreement (TISA / TiSA), currently being negotiated among 50 countries, if passed would:
TISA negotiations began in April 2013 and have gone through 21 rounds. Silence has been the rule for these talks, and we only know what's in it because of leaks, earlier ones published by WikiLeaks and now a new cache published January 29 by Bilaterals.org.
The cover story for why TISA is being negotiated is that it would uphold the right to hire the accountant or engineer of your choice, but in reality is intended to enable the financial industry and Internet companies to run roughshod over countries around the world.
And while 'liberalization' of professional services is being promoted, the definition of 'services' is being expanded in order to stretch the category to encompass manufacturing. Deborah James of the Center for Economy and Policy Research laid out the breathtaking scope of this proposal:
"Corporations no longer consider setting up a plant and producing goods to be simply 'manufacturing goods.' This activity is now is broken down into research and development services, design services, legal services, real estate services, architecture services, engineering services, construction services, energy services, employment contracting services, consulting services, manufacturing services, adult education services, payroll services, maintenance services, refuse disposal services, warehousing services, data management services, telecommunications services, audiovisual services, banking services, accounting services, insurance services, transportation services, distribution services, marketing services, retail services, postal and expedited delivery services, and after-sales servicing, to name a few.
"Going further, a shoe or watch that measures steps or sleep could be a fitness monitoring service, not a good. A driverless car could be a transport service, not an automobile. Google and Facebook could be information services and communication services, respectively."
Why are we kept in the dark?
In the United States, the new Trump administration has yet to say a word about it. The Office of the US Trade Representative web site's page on TISA still says "TiSA is part of the Obama Administration's ongoing effort to create economic opportunity for U.S. workers and businesses by expanding trade opportunities."
Uh-huh. President Donald Trump is not against 'free trade' deals; he simply claims he can do it better. The Trump administration has issued blustery calls for "fair deals" and braggadocio puffing up Donald Trump's supposed negotiating prowess.
The Canadian government's last update is from last June and declares "Parties conducted a stocktaking session to assess the level of progress on all issues."
more......
TPP and TTIP are not dead: now they're called the Trade In Services Agreement - The Ecologist
Think the ideas behind the TPP, the TTIP or the so-called 'free trade' regime are buried just because Trump scrapped them?
Sadly, no. Definitely, no.
TISA is the backup plan in case the TPP and the TTIP don't come to fruition. Perhaps fearful that the recent spotlight put on 'free trade' deals might derail TISA as it derailed TPP, the governmental trade offices negotiating it have not announced the next negotiating date.
The closest toward any meaningful information found was the Australian government's bland statement that the "Parties agreed to reconvene in 2017."
The Trade In Services Agreement (TISA / TiSA), currently being negotiated among 50 countries, if passed would:
- prohibit regulations on the financial industry;
- eliminate laws to safeguard online or digital privacy;
- render illegal any 'buy local' rules at any level of government;
- effectively dismantle any public advantages to be derived from state-owned enterprises; and
- eliminate net neutrality.
TISA negotiations began in April 2013 and have gone through 21 rounds. Silence has been the rule for these talks, and we only know what's in it because of leaks, earlier ones published by WikiLeaks and now a new cache published January 29 by Bilaterals.org.
The cover story for why TISA is being negotiated is that it would uphold the right to hire the accountant or engineer of your choice, but in reality is intended to enable the financial industry and Internet companies to run roughshod over countries around the world.
And while 'liberalization' of professional services is being promoted, the definition of 'services' is being expanded in order to stretch the category to encompass manufacturing. Deborah James of the Center for Economy and Policy Research laid out the breathtaking scope of this proposal:
"Corporations no longer consider setting up a plant and producing goods to be simply 'manufacturing goods.' This activity is now is broken down into research and development services, design services, legal services, real estate services, architecture services, engineering services, construction services, energy services, employment contracting services, consulting services, manufacturing services, adult education services, payroll services, maintenance services, refuse disposal services, warehousing services, data management services, telecommunications services, audiovisual services, banking services, accounting services, insurance services, transportation services, distribution services, marketing services, retail services, postal and expedited delivery services, and after-sales servicing, to name a few.
"Going further, a shoe or watch that measures steps or sleep could be a fitness monitoring service, not a good. A driverless car could be a transport service, not an automobile. Google and Facebook could be information services and communication services, respectively."
Why are we kept in the dark?
In the United States, the new Trump administration has yet to say a word about it. The Office of the US Trade Representative web site's page on TISA still says "TiSA is part of the Obama Administration's ongoing effort to create economic opportunity for U.S. workers and businesses by expanding trade opportunities."
Uh-huh. President Donald Trump is not against 'free trade' deals; he simply claims he can do it better. The Trump administration has issued blustery calls for "fair deals" and braggadocio puffing up Donald Trump's supposed negotiating prowess.
The Canadian government's last update is from last June and declares "Parties conducted a stocktaking session to assess the level of progress on all issues."
more......
TPP and TTIP are not dead: now they're called the Trade In Services Agreement - The Ecologist