Wikileaks posts 'largest leak of trade negotiations in history' charting progress of TiSA
Source: independent.co.uk
Wikileaks has released 17 different documents relating to the so-called 'secret' negotiations for a massive global trade deal known as the Trade in Services Agreement, a lesser known cousin of the Trans-Pacific Partnership that US President Barack Obama has been campaigning heavily for in Washington.
The leak has been timed to coincide with a meeting of leaders for the Trade in Services Agreement in Paris. TiSA is one of three trade treaties that global political leaders have been trying to agree on, alongside TTP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Negotiations for the deals have been conducted in private. While this is standard procedure, it has raised suspicions about the content of the talks. One UK MEP wrote an op-ed on the fact that she'd seen the 'undemocratic' TTIP deal, but wasn't at liberty to reveal any of its contents. Another study said even EU representatives in Brussels thought their European Commission colleagues were making deals behind closed doors.
Supporter of Wikileaks said the negotiating texts were 'the largest leak of secret trade negotiations in history'. "The secrecy charade has collapsed," said Deborah James of the Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS) network, a group of activists committed to fighting against corporate globalisation.
Wikileaks published a draft financial services annex of the TISA negotiations a year ago, containing plans to deregulate the financial sector. It said the new document confirms these plans, while also revealing new information about air traffic, maritime, professional services, e-commerce and domestic regulation.
On Tuesday, Wikileaks said it would crowd source $100,000 to offer as a bounty for the remaining chapters of the TPP.
The European Union is the largest exporter of services. It believes that opening up the trade in services through TISA will lead to economic growth and an increase in jobs.
Source: independent.co.uk
