19 June 2014, WikiLeaks publishes secret Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) - Financial Services, covering 50 countries. (https://wikileaks.org/tisa-financial/). WikiLeaks publishes the text of a 19-page, International Trade Agreement being drafted in secret. Fifty (50) Countries around the globe have already signed on to the Trade in Service Agreement, or TISA, including the United States, Australia and the European Union. The US and the EU are the main proponents of the agreement. The draft text comes from the April 2014 negotiation round – the sixth round since the first held in April 2013. TISA is a trade agreement aimed at making it easier for service providers to access foreign markets. Theres broad concern about the documents suggestion that financial services organisations should enjoy unrestricted access to TISA signatories markets. Financial services organisations could parachute IT staff in wherever they please instead of employing locals, under provisions of an annex to the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) revealed today by WikiLeaks- Article X.9, titled “Temporary Entry of Personnel” as it provides that parties to the treaty “shall permit temporary entry into its territory of … (i)senior managerial personnel possessing proprietary information essential to the establishment, control and operation of the services of the financial service supplier; and (ii) specialists in the operation of the financial service supplier. ■ The Financial Services Annex, (wikileaks.org/tisa-financial/WikiLeaks-secret-tisa-financial-annex.pdf), which WikiLeaks says is secret, contains some un-nerving provisions. Despite the failures in financial regulation evident during the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and calls for improvement of relevant regulatory structures, proponents of TISA aim to further deregulate global financial services markets. The Financial Services Annex sets rules which would assist the expansion of financial multi-nationals – mainly headquartered in New York, London, Paris and Frankfurt – into other nations by preventing regulatory barriers. The leaked draft also shows that the US is particularly keen on boosting cross-border data flow, which would allow uninhibited exchange of personal and financial data. ■ In Australia, journalists at The Age reported that experts say the proposed changes included within the WikiLeaks document “could undermine Australias capacity to independently respond to and weather any future global financial crisis.” Dr. Patricia Ranald, a research associate at the University of Sydney and convener of the Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, told the paper that the documents suggest the US wants to “tie the hands” of other governments, including allied ones, by way of sheer deregulation: “Amendments from the US are seeking to end publicly provided services like public pension funds, which are referred to as monopolies and to limit public regulation of all financial services,” she said. They want to freeze financial regulation at existing levels, which would mean that governments could not respond to new developments like another global financial crisis. ■ Earlier this week, US Trade Representative Michael Froman said the TISA deal was already well on its way: The basic framework of the agreement is in place, initial market access offers have been exchanged, and sector-specific work in areas like telecommunications and financial services is in full swing,” Froman said, according to Reuters. TISA negotiations are currently taking place outside of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework. However, the Agreement is being crafted to be compatible with GATS so that a critical mass of participants will be able to pressure remaining WTO members to sign on in the future. Conspicuously absent from the 50 countries covered by the negotiations are the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The exclusive nature of TISA will weaken their position in future services negotiations. ■ Along with representatives from Canada, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Turkey, the USA and dozens others, the next round of negotiations in taking place, 23-27 June in Switzerland. However, WASHDC legislators are largely being kept in the dark as the TISA group sets the trade agenda for the USA and the rest of the world. Additionally, in a steep anti-transparency manoeuvre, the TISA draft has been classified as secret not just during the negotiations but also after its completion, the TISA document will be kept classified for five full years. ----i ref, https://wikileaks.org/tisa-financial/ wikileaks.org/tisa-financial/WikiLeaks-secret-tisa-financial-annex.pdf theregister.co.uk/2014/06/20/bankers_bid_to_use_temp_techies_from_offshore/ globalresearch.ca/the-secret-trade-in-services-agreement-tisa-the-financial-services-annex-released-by-wikileaks/5387676
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 21:14:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015