TiSA: CoC opposes

TiSA: CoC opposes

Postby Oscar » Wed Jun 07, 2017 7:55 am

The Council of Canadians opposes the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) talks

[ https://canadians.org/blog/council-cana ... tisa-talks ]

June 5, 2017 - 7:35 am

The Council of Canadians is opposed to the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), a 50-country deal currently under negotiation in Geneva.

Canada is taking part in the talks along with Australia, Chile, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, representing its 28 member states.

A block on remunicipalizing water and sanitation services
The Transnational Institute highlights, "TiSA could mean that market reforms, such as the privatization of water companies, would become impossible to undo. Participating countries will have to declare and justify not wanting to outsource water services to the market. If water is not on this negative list, the government will be forced to give both national companies as well as multinational businesses a similar treatment. TiSA will make it impossible for governments to reverse privatization or decrease the influence of the private sector. Governments will only be able to choose to maintain privatized services as they are or to extend liberalization."

Public Services International warns, "TiSA would limit and may even prohibit remunicipalization because it would prevent governments from creating or reestablishing public monopolies or similarly 'uncompetitive' forms of service delivery. Of particular concern for remunicipalization projects are the proposed 'standstill' and 'ratchet' provisions in TiSA. The standstill clause would lock in current levels of services liberalization in each country, effectively banning any moves from a market-based to a state-based provision of public services."

The WikiLeaks release in October 2016 of European Union demands also suggests that the European Union wants to lock in a wide list of service sectors to TiSA privatization and deregulation provisions, including public services, such as sanitation and sewage services, in developing countries.

Deregulation of financial services
In the summer of 2016, the Independent reported, "We know, from leaks, that TISA is heavily backed by City of London financial corporations [because TiSA would] lock-in financial sector deregulation – the same framework that caused the 2008 economic crash. TISA could also make it more difficult to limit speculation in the market, to break up banks or to regulate risky financial products."

An obstacle to renewable energy, privacy, migrant rights
That article adds, "We also know that some countries are pushing clauses in TISA which would prevent signatories introducing laws to favour renewable energy over fossil fuels. [It could also] allow companies like Google and Facebook to move personal information to the US where data protection is more lax. [And] some categories of migrant worker may end up being 'independent service suppliers' and [would] consequently not enjoy the right to things like the minimum wage or be allowed to join a trade union, essentially becoming a form of modern indentured labour."

Offshoring health care services
And in 2015, the Sydney Morning Herald reported, "According to a leaked document, [TISA] negotiations ... will include discussion of wide-ranging reforms to national public health systems to promote 'offshoring' of health care services. ...The leaked 'concept paper on health care services within TISA negotiations' ... argues there is 'huge untapped potential for the globalisation of healthcare services', creating massive business opportunities from what is a $US6 trillion per year industry. The proposed regime would involve health professionals authorising patients to be treated in other TISA countries (for reasons including long waiting times in the home country or inadequate expertise for specific medical problems); and the patient's costs being reimbursed through their home country's social security system, private insurance coverage or other healthcare arrangements."

The Global Affairs Canada website (last updated in April 2017) states, "Canada holds a significant interest in the TISA negotiations... The TISA is also supportive of Canada’s progressive approach to trade... Parties will continue their internal consultations and preparations in the interim until a date is determined among the Parties to reconvene for the next formal round of negotiations in 2017."

The Council of Canadians calls on the Trudeau government to immediately withdraw from the TiSA talks.
[ https://canadians.org/search/node/TiSA ]


Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Oscar
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Re: TiSA: CoC opposes, remains a threat

Postby Oscar » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:43 pm

Trade in Services Agreement talks appear stalled, but remain a threat to the public interest

[ https://canadians.org/blog/trade-servic ... c-interest ]

December 3, 2017 - 8:03 am

There has not been a lot of recent media coverage on the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), so it can be a challenge to assess its status.

In April, the BBC reported, "[The negotiation for a Trade in Services Agreement] is not yet complete and so it is not yet an 'agreement', strictly speaking."

Then in late-June, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development reported, "Negotiators for [TiSA] attempted to reach a political deal before the end of last year. However, those efforts were put on hold after disagreements on some substantive issues and uncertainty over the new US leadership’s approach."

At that time, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer stated in response to a question about TiSA, “That [agreement] certainly is an important one and I don’t expect it to fall by the wayside. We’re doing an evaluation right now across the board, and when that is done, we’ll move forward."

And on November 28, British trade minister Liam Fox stated, "We must work together to see the revitalisation of ambitious projects such as the Trade in Services Agreement, currently becalmed in Geneva." Two days later, a joint statement issued by the Australian and British trade ministers recognized "the value of progressing the Trade in Services Agreement as soon as possible".

The talks on TiSA began in 2012 and include 23 governments representing 50 countries. The countries involved are Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Colombia, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, representing its 28 member states.

In terms of the 'rationale' for the deal, the BBC has explained, "[The service sector] accounts for 78 per cent or more of national economic activity in the UK, France and the US [but] the value of global trade in goods still exceeds services by a factor of more than three. ...Barriers to services trade [have] come in the form of regulation - not the tariffs or taxes that impinge on commerce in goods."

That article adds, "Countries sometimes impose limits on the percentage share of ownership that foreign companies can have in a business that provides services. ...There can also be nationality requirements. ...In just about all countries practitioners of many professions require approved qualifications [and] the extent to which there is mutual recognition of other countries' qualifications varies. There are also sometimes licensing and residency requirements which can stand in the way of cross-border provision."

And the BBC has noted, "Critics accuse the governments involved of negotiating in secret. They also criticise the 'ratchet clause' that the agreement is likely to include, which would prevent countries from reintroducing trade barriers that they had removed. Critics say that would make it harder for any government involved to reverse the privatisation of any services that had been transferred to the private sector. They also say it would undermine the rights of governments to regulate in the public interest."

The Council of Canadians has highlighted that TiSA would: [ https://canadians.org/blog/council-cana ... tisa-talks ]

1- be a block on remunicipalizing water and sanitation services
2- promote the deregulation of financial services
3- be an obstacle to renewable energy, deregulate the energy services and mining sectors
4- hurt privacy and migrant rights
5- promote the offshoring of health care services

While the Global Affairs website says "Canada holds a significant interest in the TISA negotiations", the Council of Canadians calls on the Trudeau government to immediately withdraw from TiSA talks.

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the Council of Canadians
[ https://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Oscar
Site Admin
 
Posts: 9079
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm


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