KEI has posted a helpful summary of the key developments at the most recent round of negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership.
Post Tagged with: "tpp"
Secrecy the Standard as Canada Enters Trans Pacific Partnership Talks
Despite growing opposition in Canada, the Canadian government has begun formal participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, aimed at establishing one of the world’s most ambitious trade agreements. As nearly a dozen countries – including the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Mexico and Vietnam – gathered in New Zealand last week for the 14th round of talks, skeptics here have already expressed doubts about the benefits of the proposed deal.
Canada has free-trade agreements with the United States, Mexico, Chile and Peru, leaving just six countries – currently representing less than 1 per cent of Canadian exports – as the net gain. Moreover, the price of entry may be high, since leaked documents suggest the deal might require a major overhaul of Canadian agriculture, investment, intellectual property and culture protection rules.
While the substance of the TPP is cause for concern, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues the more immediate issue is the lack of transparency associated with both the negotiations and Canada’s participation in them. The talks remain shrouded in secrecy, with a draft text that is confidential; public interest groups are largely banned from the venue where the negotiations are being held.
Secrecy the Standard as Canada Enters Trans Pacific Partnership Talks
Appeared in the Toronto Star on December 9, 2012 as Secrecy the Standard as Canada Enters Trans Pacific Partnership Talks Despite growing opposition in Canada, the Canadian government has begun formal participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations, aimed at establishing one of the world’s most ambitious trade agreements. As […]
DFAIT Establishes Secret Insider Trans Pacific Partnership Consulting Group
Canada begins formal participation in the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations next week in Auckland, New Zealand. The TPP remains shrouded in secrecy (Peter Clark has published a detailed must-read guide that provides a complete assessment of the talks to date based on leaks and media reports), but it appears that some individuals and organizations may have privileged access to the text or other negotiation information. The Department of Foreign Affairs is creating a secret insider “Consulting Group” that will be granted access to secret and confidential information regarding the negotiations. A source this week provided a copy of the non-disclosure agreement that DFAIT is requiring members of the consulting group to sign, a copy of which is posted below.
The creation of an insider group is reminiscent of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Negotiations, where DFAIT spent months trying to pull together an ACTA insider group, only to drop the plan after the publication of the initial composition of the group (I obtained the information via an Access to Information request).
A TPP insider group raises a host of concerns including questions about who has privileged access, whether civil society groups will also have access and be invited to join, and the extent of behind-the-scenes consultations with industry groups. While DFAIT may seek to justify the creation of an insider group based on the need for expert advice, the lack of transparency with the TPP is now exacerbated by a two-tier approach to TPP information with a select, secret group gaining insider access to information. DFAIT should immediately disclose who has been invited to join the insider group, why it is has established a two-tier approach, and how it intends to ensure that all Canadians have access to the latest TPP developments.
The NDA is posted below: that will be granted access to secret and confidential information regarding the negotiations. A source this week provided a copy of the non-disclosure agreement that DFAIT is requiring members of the consulting group to sign, a copy of which is posted below.
Gordon Ritchie on CETA and the TPP
Gordon Ritchie, one of the architects of the Canada – U.S. Free Trade Agreement, on CETA and the TPP: from what I have seen of the proposed deal with the European Community, it is not at all obvious what Canada stands to gain. The benefits are even less clear from […]
Recent Posts
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 200: Colin Bennett on the EU’s Surprising Adequacy Finding on Canadian Privacy Law 
Debating the Online Harms Act: Insights from Two Recent Panels on Bill C-63 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 199: Boris Bytensky on the Criminal Code Reforms in the Online Harms Act 
AI Spending is Not an AI Strategy: Why the Government’s Artificial Intelligence Plan Avoids the Hard Governance Questions 
The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 198: Richard Moon on the Return of the Section 13 Hate Speech Provision in the Online Harms Act
