Canada’s Finance Minister Says Volcker Rule Violates Nafta...wants US to amend rule Wall St Journal

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Minister wants U.S. to amend the rule banning banks from trading triple-A-rated Canadian debt
By
Paul Vieira

Updated May 13, 2015 4:57 p.m. ET

A U.S. rule that prohibits banks from taking risky bets with their own money violates the North American Free-Trade Agreement because it bans U.S. banks from trading triple-A-rated Canadian government debt, Canada’s finance minister said Wednesday.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/canadas-finance-minister-says-volcker-rule-violates-nafta-1431541914

The rest is behind a paywall.

[Romeo.lima333]

1. a preview of coming b.s.

pay raises in u.s. violate tpp. u.s. sued for lost profits

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2. water restrictions in California violate TPP

Walmarts and Nestle (after its European twin passes) sue California for lost profits.

[geek tragedy]

3. this actually is not that outrageous a request, unless I'm missing something

The issue is whether banks should treat bonds from the Canadian government the same as bonds from the US government, given their identical safety record etc.

This becomes an issue because almost all Canadian banks wind up covered by US financial laws due to the nature of the economic relationship between the two countries.

A very minor carve out for Canadian governmental debt wouldn't be the end of the world, so long as it's carefully drafted and implemented.