A blow to rural Canada
When will we stop engaging in trade agreements where interests of multinationals obstruct social policies?
We now have USMCA — the new trade deal with the U.S. — and rural P.E.I. is facing yet another assault on its dairy farmers and all Islanders are facing another increase in the cost of drugs. How did this happen?
As recently as last November, the big banks, as well as civil society, produced reports indicating that the economic impact of not having NAFTA would not be insurmountable. A trade expert told CBC Charlottetown that the impact on P.E.I. would be “fairly modest.” Seven out of P.E.I.’s top 10 exports to the U.S. would remain tariff-free under WTO rules. Those included fresh and frozen lobster, mussels, oysters and aircraft parts. At the same time, the Bank of Montreal said the termination of NAFTA would be “a manageable risk that policymakers, businesses and markets would adjust to in relatively short order.”
Somehow, between the government and the mainstream media, the impression was left that without NAFTA, the ‘sky would fall in.’ All serious discussion of how Canada might move forward without NAFTA was blocked and P.E.I. is paying the price.
Canada’s supply-management system has been eroded by our Liberal government with each agreement it has signed. First, the EU agreement (CETA) and then the CP-TPP. Government’s own calculations indicated that P.E.I. dairy farmers would lose about $32.3 million as a result of the CP-TPP alone.
Now USMCA gives up another 3.49 per cent of market share to the U.S. The Dairy Farmers of Canada say that market-share losses from recent trade deals is around 18 per cent. It is irksome that our federal government is suggesting that supply-management is still intact. Because it isn’t. P.E.I. farmers are right to be angry. Their quotas are losing value and their ability to make ends meet is severely challenged.
Similarly, Canada conceded to the demands of Big Pharma for a second time. CETA increased drug costs to Islanders by approximately $3.6 million annually. Now the USMCA agreement will increase them further. Canada agreed to the extension of the minimum “data protection” period for biologic drugs. This will delay the entry into the marketplace of cheaper generic versions. This cost increase will come out of Islanders’ pockets whether it is borne by Health P.E.I. or by individuals at the pharmacy counter, and will make it more difficult to develop a pharmacare program in Canada.
Just like other trade agreements, USMCA is essentially a book of rules which give corporations rights and little to anyone else. Take, for example, the regulatory co-operation regime which gives corporations an opportunity to nip proposed public interest regulation in the bud if it interferes with trade - before Canadian citizens even know about it.
Aside from some gains for Mexican workers, this agreement has the same weak and unenforceable Labour standards as the CP-TPP, no gender chapter, no environment chapter and no mention of climate change. The “progressive” spin has completely disappeared from the government’s talking points.
The one triumph for civil society and social movements on both sides of the border is the withdrawal of the controversial Investor State Dispute Settlement process. Ironically, we have Trump’s administration to thank for this, specifically Lighthizer, Trump’s trade representative. So, little thanks to Justin Trudeau here.
As the dust settles we have to ask: “When will we stop engaging in trade agreements in which the interests of multinationals consistently obstruct important social policies which benefit us all?” We need a new model for doing trade which is rule-based and designed to address human and planetary needs.