The European Commission has posted a public update on the status of the agricultural provisions in the proposed Canada – EU Trade Agreement. The EC says the goal is to conclude the agreement at a Ministerial meeting in Ottawa on February 7th, though reports suggest that may be overly optimistic. The state of the agricultural provisions is described as follows:
Cooperation in the Pacific Rim by Jakob Polacsek, World Economic Forum (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) https://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/48179628441
Digital Trade
European Reports Indicate Ongoing Battle over CETA IP Provisions
The European Commission hosted an information session for non-governmental groups on Europe’s current trade negotiations. The Canada – EU Trade Agreement was the first discussed. Both Ends, a Dutch NGO, reports that European officials indicated that they are still unhappy with the Canadian position on copyright and patents. While the […]
European Commission Drops ACTA Appeal
The European Commission has dropped its appeal of ACTA at the European Court of Justice. Earlier this year, the EC promised to take ACTA to the ECJ to review its compatibility with fundamental rights. With ACTA now politically dead in Europe, the EC has dropped the action.
KEI’s Summary of the 15th Round of TPP Talks
KEI has posted a helpful summary of the key developments at the most recent round of negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership.
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.
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The Law Bytes Podcast, Episode 229: My Digital Access Day Keynote – Assessing the Canadian Digital Policy Record 
Queen’s University Trustees Reject Divestment Efforts Emphasizing the Importance of Institutional Neutrality
