Room facilities agreement with the trade treaty CETA: this is what that means – NOS

The Second Room supports CETA: the trade between the countries of the European Union and Canada. In the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement are agreements on trade in goods and services. Also, the treaty on investment, working conditions and the environment.

CETA should the trade between the EU and Canada to stimulate. The need for Dutch companies it is easier and cheaper to products and services on the Canadian market. Conversely, should Canadian companies be easier in the Netherlands.

Take the Canadian department store chain Hudson’s Bay. That company will soon be the first offices in the Netherlands. By CETA it is for Hudson’s Bay will soon be cheaper to get products from Canada to the Netherlands: the customs procedures to be simplified. Also, the companies get to make with exactly the same regulations as the Dutch competitors, such as The Beehive.

Why is CETA?

The EU and Canada want the treaty to be happy because the economic interests are great. After the United States, the European Union is the largest trading partner of Canada.

the Netherlands plays a relatively large role: in 2015 we exported 3 billion euros in goods to Canada, and we imported for 1.4 billion euro from Canada. After the American companies are Dutch companies, the largest investor in the Canadian economy: there are currently over 56 billion dollars in the country invested.

The negotiations between the EU and Canada on CETA are in 2014 already completed. But the treaty is not uncontroversial. And to CETA into force, all individual countries to the treaty to approve. Also the Council of Ministers of Europe and the European Parliament have their blessings yet to give.

Controversial

Several organizations have, in the past time spoken out against CETA. Among others, Greenpeace, Milieudefensie, Foodwatch and trade union FNV are up against. They see in the trade treaty is a danger because it goes further than formal trade agreements.

“CETA comes at the expense of rules that are meant to food safety and to protect the environment,” says Jurjen de Waal of Foodwatch. “For example, think of the European precautionary principle, that consumers are protected when there are suspicions that substances or ingredients can be harmful for the health. This principle exists in the United States and Canada do not, there may be products only forbidden, if fully proven, is that there is a danger.”

The most controversial is the legal protection for large companies that are in the treaty. This protection is called ISDS, or in watered-down form, ICS – and states that companies obtain government may require as they are by changes in law or regulation adversely affected. According to opponents would be that countries under pressure to convert to any new rules about, for example, environmental standards and working conditions.

TTIP

CETA is the younger sister of the TTIP called the proposed trade treaty between the EU and the United States. Both trade agreements are about the same topics. Canada and the United States are, however, different countries with different economies, so the content of the treaties is different.

Critics believe, however, that CETA represents ‘TTIP through the back door’, because many American companies have an establishment in Canada and therefore allowed to make use of CETA.

The EU and the United States negotiations of the TTIP. It is unlikely that this year there will be an agreement.