Today's Main Story: Opponents mobilizing to defeat EU-Canadian trade deal in Europe with a negative ratification vote
Just as the final version of Canada and the EU’s free trade deal is about to be issued, opposition to the agreement is mounting in Europe. Jean-Claude Juncker will step into the presidency of the EU Commission within days and said a vote from all 28 member states of the Union could be needed to ratify the deal. Germany has come out against the deal over specific investment protection agreements. The worst-case scenario, thinks Carleton University's Crina Viju, is the deal won't be approved by ministers at the European Council because of concerns like Germany's. "Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper must have recognized that they talked too much, too early that this deal was done. It wasn't done at all, obviously," said Viju.
A crackdown in government corruption in China is driving down sales of high-priced Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs. Sellers are predicting sales volumes to be down as much as 50 percent. Even pre-season voucher sales for the crabs are down. "Now, very few want to buy these crabs to give as presents, with the ongoing Party anti-corruption campaign," said Wang Qiang, a store operator in Beijing's Hepingli community.
In other news Thai Commerce officials found the country’s frozen shrimp and fresh and frozen seafood sectors are the least prepared to handle the end of the EU’s tariff preference. Starting next year Thailand will no longer be classified as a developing country under EU standards. According to trade officials Thai shrimp exporters will now have to compete with Vietnamese and Indonesian competitors that have more favorable tariff rates.
Finally, lionfish in Florida’s waters have now become the world’s most invasive marine species ever. The fish have been likened to rats: they eat anything, reproduce endlessly and adapt to their environments easily. Marine experts say completely eliminating them from Florida’s waters cannot be done and it is now a matter of managing the population. ''Eradication is not on the table, but local control has proven to be very effective,'' said Lad Akins, special projects director for the Reef Environmental Education Foundation, a grass-roots organization helping to curb the proliferation of lionfish. ''They are what many people call a near-perfect invader.''
Have a good weekend.
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