Multinational companies will not be given too much power by a trade agreement between the EU and the US, the EU’s trade chief said on Tuesday, seeking to reassure consumer and environmental groups opposed to the pact.
Washington and Brussels are negotiating the accord, the world’s biggest, which would create a market of 800 million people. However, popular opposition to a deal is growing.
“Our choice is not between a world where each does as he pleases and a nightmare where we are ruled directly by multinational corporations,” EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told businesses, trade unions and diplomats at Thomson Reuters in London.
Protest parties from across Europe’s political spectrum have rallied against the proposed US-EU deal, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. They performed well in last month’s elections for the European Parliament, warning voters of dire consequences if an accord is sealed.
European consumer and environmental groups say the biggest threat comes from a mechanism that would allow companies to bring claims against a country if it breaches the trade treaty.
They say the mechanism for settling disputes would allow multinationals to bully the EU’s 28 governments into doing their bidding regardless of environmental, labor and food laws.
The US and the EU deny that. They say dispute settlement has been an important part of trade accords since the North American Free Trade Agreement 20 years ago.
“There is nothing shocking here... I am not seeking to destroy anyone’s soul,” De Gucht said.
De Gucht has the option of removing a dispute mechanism from the agreement, although he said Washington will not accept that.
For businesses, protecting their interests, ranging from power grids to new factories, is crucial. Almost US$3 billion in goods and services are already traded each day between the US and Europe. Annual turnover of all foreign companies in the EU is about 3 trillion euros (US$4 trillion).
An EU-US deal alone could add US$100 billion a year to economic output on both sides of the Atlantic.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
Arm Holdings PLC approached Intel Corp about potentially buying the ailing chipmaker’s product division, only to be told that the business is not for sale, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. In the high-level inquiry, Arm did not express interest in Intel’s manufacturing operations, said the source, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private. Intel has two main units: A product group that sells chips for personal computers, servers and networking equipment, and another that operates its factories. Representatives for Arm and Intel declined to comment. Intel, once the world’s largest chipmaker, has become the
RSS