TPP lowers protections for autos, farmers
Biggest free-trade agreement in Canada’s history will cover nearly 40 per cent of world’s economy
Canadian whisky is protected along with the British Columbia logging industry, but Canada’s auto parts industry and dairy farmers say the full text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) confirms the 12nation trade deal leaves them exposed.
The full text of the massive trade pact was posted online Thursday, exactly one month after it was negotiated, reigniting the debate over whether the former Conservative government negotiated the best deal for Canada.
“At first glance, the agreement seems to be just as positive as what was previously presented to Canadians and we continue to encourage the (new) government of Canada to go ahead with the deal,” the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.
But Canada’s largest private-sector union, Unifor, said it will be pressing the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to carefully review the document before putting it to Parliament for a ratification vote.
“The new government needs to commit to fixing whatever mistakes lurk in the TPP text because the former Conservative government was in such a rush,” Unifor national president Jerry Dias said in a statement.
The deal, which links Canada, the U.S. and Mexico with Japan and eight other Pacific Rim countries, covers nearly 40 per cent of the global economy and 800 million people. It’s the biggest in Canadian history and the most important since Canada joined the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994.
The documents were published by the TPP parties and posted on a website hosted by the government of New Zealand. Canada’s trade department also posted a list of nearly two dozen side agreements Canada has signed with individual member nations.