We must beware the newest EU trade agreement

I WAS interested to read your article about the SNP’s confused policy on fracking (“First Minister urged to make clear her policy on fracking”, The Herald, April 12).

However, fracking is not the only area of policy where the SNP has not clarified its position to the electorate. Aspects of SNP trade policy are also unclear, as illustrated by the party’s refusal to take a firm, unequivocal stance on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (Ceta), the mammoth trade deal between the EU and Canada, which has been negotiated in secret, but is now ready for ratification on June 23.

Owing to the lack of transparency surrounding the negotiation of this agreement, and the failure of the Scottish Government to warn the electorate about its content, few people in this country are aware of the dangers posed by Ceta to our NHS and other public services, to workers’ rights, to food safety and to climate change.

Ceta will allow multinational companies to sue elected governments in private courts for introducing any measures, even those made in the public interest, if they threaten the profits of that company. This means that democracy itself is at risk. In this context, it is pertinent to note, that, under a trade deal (North American Free Trade Agreement) similar to Ceta, Lone Pine, a large multinational company, based in Alberta is suing, through an American subsidiary, the province of Quebec. It contends that Quebec is threatening company profits by imposing a moratorium until it investigates whether it would be safe to allow fracking under the St Lawrence River. The SNP has voiced its concern about certain aspects of CETA, but has not indicated that it will reject this very dangerous agreement in its entirety. Jean Kemp, St Andrews TTIP Action Group, 16 Learmonth Place, St Andrews.