Canada and the EU are having some trouble, apparently:
A set of leaked documents obtained by The Canadian Press show Canada and the European Union are still far apart in deciding how much power investors should have under their pending free-trade agreement.
A Feb. 7 draft of the investment text shows Canada and the EU are proposing ways to ensure foreign investors don't use the agreement to launch frivolous lawsuits against governments demanding compensation for any old measure that cuts into their profits.
But the EU and Canada can't agree on wording that determines how much leeway governments should have to pass laws that may inadvertently infringe on the activities of investors.
...
The European Commission is under pressure from some of its member states to have the investment part of deal with Canada serve as a blueprint for other free trade negotiations, explained Jan Kleinheisterkamp, a senior lecturer in the law department of the London School of Economics, who follows the investor-protection discussions closely.
Those states want to see the Canada agreement closely reflect other European bilateral investment agreements that have very few strings attached.
Will the U.S. and EU come up against similiar problems, if and when they start negotiating on these issues?
