Unveiling the CETA deal: A Bloodsucking Trade Deal That Must be Stopped

Let’s delve into the dark depths of CETA and expose the snakes lurking within.

While the EU touts CETA as a boon for businesses and citizens alike, the reality is far from it. The overall impact on economies will be to increase corporate power and enable theft of our public services and assets.

Canadian agriculture has already suffered a significant blow, losing around 10% of its exports to Europe since the inception of CETA. The gains from tariff removal go to corporations and we are the losers in a game where the stakes are high.

Behind the scenes, CETA establishes the Regulatory Cooperation Forum, a shadowy entity susceptible to the influence of corporate lobbyists. This forum ties the hands of governments, forcing them to consult foreign entities before implementing new trade-related regulations.

The new Investors Court System protects investments but compromises the right of governments to regulate in the public interest. The so-called chapter on sustainable development and workers’ rights in CETA is nothing more than aspirational language without any real enforceable mechanisms.

CETA’s so called negative list approach puts all public services at risk unless explicitly exempted by negotiators. The “list it or lose it” nature of these commitments is a high-stakes gamble, locking in current and future privatizations and discouraging governments from introducing new public services.

The deal becomes a ticking time bomb, threatening the very fabric of public welfare. Companies can sue governments for standing in the way of profit.

The CETA deal faced scrutiny in December 2020, leading to a postponed Dail vote. Public pressure and concerns prompted further delays, with calls for a referendum gaining momentum.

However, justified skepticism remains about the Green Party’s commitment to stop the deal, as compromise seems likely. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of CETA’s investor tribunal raises more questions about the deal.

As the CETA agreement undergoes further scrutiny in the Oireachtas European Affairs Committee and 11 other European parliaments, there is an urgent call for an alternative trade policy. A policy that prioritizes human needs, fights against climate change, and places social goals at the forefront.

Protection should not come at the expense of neighbours, and trade should encourage the transfer of skills and technologies rather than monopolizing them through intellectual property frameworks.

But such an economic model is the opposite of neoliberalism and the CETA deal simply extends the already existing reality of corporate power over politics.

CETA is not merely a trade deal; it is a corporate with dire consequences, threatening the well-being of nations and their citizens.

The time has come for a fundamental shift in policy and in our approach to economics - one that prioritizes humanity over the economic dogma of the global elite.

We must drive a stake into the heart of CETA before it sucks the life out of our economies, our rights, and our shared future.

We need to fight for a socialist economy where the needs of the many come before the profits of the few.