NAFTA deadline THIS WEEK
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Paov,
Last week, Donald Trump tried to pressure Canada into agreeing to a new NAFTA deal that threatened our free expression rights online by allowing corporations to force web pages... to be taken down under a U.S.-style “notice-and-takedown” regime.
But we fought back, and the outcry forced Trump to push back the deadline and keep negotiating with Canada.1 Now we have a real chance to get these awful provisions out of NAFTA entirely, but we have to act fast, because trade negotiators say they are "working through the night" to get a deal by this weekend.2
Trump's NAFTA deal is just plain awful for the Internet in Canada. Copyright terms would be extended up to 25 years. Huge U.S. media companies would have undue influence on the market. Corporations could force websites into darkness.3 And it looks like the U.S. is even lobbying for access to buy Canadian media outlets.4
It's like the Trans-Pacific Partnership all over again, and we won't stand for it.
The worst part is that the public has yet to see a full text of the NAFTA proposal. Trump is hoping that he can force Canada to accept his deal before everyday Canadians even get to read it. He's even threatened to do a deal with Mexico and leave Canada behind, but we can't let Trump bully us into giving up our digital rights.5
That's why we're mobilizing to demand that Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland stands strong and doesn't give in to Internet censorship and overreaching copyright laws imposed by the U.S.
But we're running out of time to make ourselves heard. A deal could be reached at any time, and we need to make sure Trump's TPP-style copyright rules are erased first.
Will you chip in to help demand that Canada's trade representative rejects Trump's terrible NAFTA giveaway?
DONATE NOWThank you for all that you do,
Laura and the OpenMedia team
Footnotes:
[1] U.S., Canada square off on NAFTA as leaders dig in: Politico
[2] Canada-U.S. deal could come by the weekend, Trump and Mexican official hint, as Trudeau digs in: The Star
[3] Modernizing NAFTA into a 21st Century Trade Agreement: Office of the United States Trade Representative
[4] Canada-U.S. deal could come by the weekend, Trump and Mexican official hint, as Trudeau digs in: The Star
[5] U.S., Canada square off on NAFTA as leaders dig in: Politico
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