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In this episode, Jean Blaylock, trade campaigner at Global Justice Now is joined by Sharon Treat, senior attorney at the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy in the US, Cecilia Olivet, co-ordinator of the trade and investment programme at the Transnational Institute, and Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now. They discuss how trade rules underpin the corporate structure of the global economy, what the Trump administration's trade agenda is, and how the pandemic could lead to a new wave of corporate court (ISDS) cases – and what we can do to change this. Music: Music: Brylie Christopher Oxley, Remnants of Effervescence
Keeping Up with Sharon Treat by Cynthia Dill
Late on Sunday evening the text of the re-negotiated North American Free Trade Agreement was released, renamed the United States Mexico Canada Agreement, or USMCA. IATP will be producing detailed analysis of the new agreement's impacts on food and agriculture, but for a cursory analysis, Josh talks with IATP Senior Attorney, Sharon Treat, about how much of the text is from the failed Trans-Pacific Partnership, and the haphazard process through which this agreement came about.
Josh talks with Sharon Treat about the troubling food safety aspects of the latest UK government white paper on Brexit and how it may affect trade with the U.S. and Europe.
Today, May 17th, is the deadline set by House Speaker, Paul Ryan, to have a NAFTA agreement on paper for Congress to take it up in 2018. Earlier this week, Josh talked with Sharon Treat and Karen Hansen-Kuhn about what the endgame might be for NAFTA and if anyone actually knows what is happening in this incredibly secretive process.
This week we're talking about labeling, and the attempt to ban it, in trade agreements. Josh talks with Sharon Treat about why multinational corporations seek to undermine public health protections through the trade negotiating process, what the history of challenging food labeling has been, and what the heck is going on with NAFTA renegotiation these days. Here, also, is a link to Sharon's blog on the subject: https://www.iatp.org/blog/lurking-in-trumps-nafta
Often, state and local politicians are reluctant to wade into the international trade debate. But that doesn't meant they shouldn't. Around the U.S. and abroad, local elected officials are taking action both to weigh in on trade negotiations and to counter the negative impacts of corporate-led trade agreements. Josh talks with Sharon Treat, IATP Senior Attorney, and former Maine state legislator, about what state and local governments are doing and could be doing in this area.
Josh Wise talks with Sharon Treat, IATP's Senior Attorney, who was at the last round of NAFTA talks in Ottawa. Sharon gives an update what has been happening at the talks, how trade talks are supposed to work, and offers an analysis on the reckless speed and nature of the negotiations so far. Listen to the first 3 episodes here.