Category: Agreement

Abstract

Climate Change has become one of the criticalities towards the sustainability our existence, with continuous increase in carbon and greenhouse gas emissions and lack of significant targets to tackle this global problem, The purpose of this paper is to deliberate on the Paris Accord, and analyze if the agreement is ambitious enough, if it will bring the planet Earth to a global temperature of two degrees celsius target and further below pre industrial levels, in this paper we conclude that per the current progress and performing indicators of member parties’ self-determined targets to reduce emissions, we realize that the Paris Agreement may not be enough.

Introduction

The Paris Agreement is an accord within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aimed at mitigating greenhouse-gas-emissions , while increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse effect of climate change, and creating the required finance flows to arrive at these targets. Signed in Le Bourget, Paris, 2016, by representatives of 196 state parties at the 21st Conference of UNFCCC and adopted on 12 December 2015. As of February 2020, all UNFCCC members have signed the agreement, and the only significant emitters which are not parties are Iran and Turkey.

The Paris Agreement’s main goal is decrease global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels; and further limit the increase to 1.5 °C.

History

Owing to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, there was an awareness to cut emissions in 1997, countries adopted the Kyoto Protocol, a legally bounding treaty with emission reduction targets. However, the agreement was deemed ineffective because the world’s two top emitting countries, China and the United States, chose not to participate.

In Doha, Qatar, 2012 during the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18), delegates agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020. In Paris they created a new, comprehensive, legally binding climate treaty that required all countries including major carbon emitters not abiding by the Kyoto Protocol to limit and reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. All countries were tasked to submit their emission reduction plans, those plans became the intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs). By December 10, 2015, 185 countries had submitted their plans to reduce emissions by 2025 or 2030.

Objectives of the Paris Agreement

In line with Article 2 of the accord, the agreement was to decrease global warming by;

• (a) Reducing global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and further limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.
• (b) Developing adaptive measures to promote climate resilience leading to reduction in emission quantities.
• (c) Providing the required financial flows to realize these targets.

Global carbon emitters;

• China (29.4%)
• United States (14.3%)
• European Economic Area (9.8%)
• India (6.8%)
• Russia (4.9%)
• Japan (3.5%)
• Other (31.3%)

Is the Paris Agreement Enough?

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, has made many comments on the shortfalls of the accord, in his recent speech at the summit on Climate Action in New York, he threatened, that even if Paris targets are fully met, the world still faces what he described as a catastrophic three-degree temperature rise by the end of the century. He described the situation as a battle for our lives, but it is a battle that can be won.

Negative Impacts

1. The nationally determined the commitments are not nearly ambitious enough, according to scientists per the current targets of the Paris Agreement the Earth’s temperature will increase by 3 degrees Celsius by the end of century, compared to pre-industrial levels. Climatologists warned that just a 2 degree increase could cause a worldwide catastrophe. All countries need to triple their efforts towards emission reduction.
2. There is critical need to institute a global tax on carbon, without a carbon tax, there is no real financial incentive for countries to transition to more sustainable and clean energy sources.
3. 3. Without punitive measures against parties who try to go contrary to the set targets or who decide to leave the agreement e.g. U.S under Donald Trump, presents real challenges to the efficacy and strength of the accord to hold up and be respected by all parties. This provides incentives for countries to continue emitting CO2 at alarming rates without having to suffer any negative consequences. In the absence of a regulatory body, sanctions or monetary fines there is true no control.
4. There are no commitments in the agreement to redirect or allocate funds towards environmental and sustainable measures or promotion of climate activism, to create awareness and sensitization.
5. The Paris Agreement has received worldwide congratulations and complements hailing it as a monumental step toward addressing climate change, and has since created a sense of false hope, It is evident since the agreement came into force, emissions have risen by approximately 4 percent; coal emissions increased 1%, oil by 1.7% and gas by 3%.

Will the planet arrive the 2°c Target?

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is the advisory body to the UN on climate, proposed four (4) trend scenarios of temperature increase till 2100. Let’s take into account a current rise of 1ºC). Based on adopted policies, the Paris Agreement and past data on emissions have realized temperature rises. The four scenarios put forward are as follows:

• Scenario 1. Business as usual: In the absence of any action, emissions will continue at the current rate, meaning the temperature will rise would be between 4°C and 5°C.
• Scenario 2. Insufficient energy transition: If the current policies to mitigate emissions growth continue to be applied, the rise would be between 3°C and 4°C.
• Scenario 3. Intermediate energy transition: if the policies of the Paris Agreement adhered to fully, the temperature rise would be 2ºC
• Scenario 4. Ambitious energy transition: If the policies within the Paris Agreement are strengthened through increase in commitments of INDC’s the temperature rise would be 1.5ºC.

These scenarios (Caixa Bank Research, the climate challenge; the future of the world at stake, 2019) are only benchmarks to help appreciate how living under sustainable conditions will look, and the kind of commitment and policies required to achieve such feet. Comparing CAT’s assessment of the expected absolute emissions in 2020, 2025, and 2030 with benchmark emissions consistent with the 1.5°C Paris Agreement goal and for reference purposes with those consistent with the former 2°C Cancun goal, there are a large deficits between the levels of emissions in 2025 and 2030 (11–14 GtCO2e in 2025 and 26–29 GtCO2e in 2030). Due to years of inaction and the current increase in emission trends, to arrive at the two degrees Celsius goal, we will require an increase in the level commitments stipulated INDC’s of the Paris Agreement as alluded to by Antonio Guterres and the environmental and science community.

According to world statistics the Earth’s average temperature is continually rising and the trend is expected to increase owing to current, past accumulated emissions/gases and thermal inertia (of 30% to 40%) dissolved in oceans and water bodies which have led to an upsurge in temperature and acidity.

Carbon Scenarios

Emission scenarios have been mapped out since the 90’s, with the sole purpose of analyzing the climate change impact and possible solutions to resolve it. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the body responsible for this assessment. The initial scenarios were developed in 1992 and 1995, these scenarios were reevaluated in the course of time which advised on recommendations in terms of emission drivers. The recommendations were primarily on;

1. carbon intensity of energy supply,
2. the income gap between developed and developing countries,
3. Sulfur emissions.

Under thoughtful scrutiny, IPCC in 1996 to mapped out new scenarios.

According to the IPCC Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES), Four (4) qualitative storylines produce four sets of scenarios called families: A1, A2, B1, and B2. A probability of forty (40) scenarios have been realized by six (6) modeling teams. All the scenarios are probable and in no order of occurrence or magnitude. The scenarios consists of six (6) scenario groups: one (1) group each in A2, B1, B2, and three groups within the A1 family, representing alternatives of energy solutions namely: A1FI (fossil fuel intensive), A1B (balanced), and A1T (predominantly non-fossil fuel).

Within each family and group of scenarios, some share “harmonized” scenarios (HS) on population, GDP, and energy. For scenarios that show uncertainties in their driving factors beyond HS we refer to as “OS”.

• The A1 storyline predicts a future of very rapid economic growth, a population that peaks within the mid-century and immediately declines, owing to the influx of modern and efficient technologies. The A1 scenario family develops into three groups (A1FI, A1T, A1B),the groups are differentiated by their technological emphasis: fossil intensive, non-fossil energy sources, and a balance across all sources respectively
• The A2 storyline predicts a very heterogeneous mix, as a result of self-reliance and preservation of local identities.
• The B1 storyline predicts a convergence with the same conditions, as in the A1 storyline, but with rapid changes in economic structures forming a service and information based economy, with reductions in material intensity, and the introduction of clean energy technologies.
• The B2 storyline predicts a key focus on local solutions to economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Comparatively A2, it has lower population growth rate.

Recommendations

• Align investments with net-zero CO2 emissions
• Adapt ways to strengthen societies ability to deal with the impacts of climate change
• Cultivate transparency and global stock take of all parties including punitive actions for any party reneging on its commitment.
• Increasing commitments (INDC’s) to reduce emissions

Conclusion

The ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement is to maintain global temperature of not more than two degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. The unfortunate truth is that four (4) years on, the world is far from that target, due to the lack of enough effort and ambition of member parties.

The accord allows each party to establish its own climate commitment (INDC’s), detailing measures to be employed to cut down emissions and indicative timelines, yet despite this effort most, if not all seem to be failing woefully, the sad truth is that the Paris Agreement may not br enough.

Climate Action Tracker (CAT) is an international organization that checks the status of the parties (32) that signed the Paris Agreement and implemented their INDC’s, the realization is that almost all countries are failing to meet the Paris goals, Per CAT research, taking into consideration current commitments, the global temperature would increase by at least 3.2 Celsius degrees by 2100.

Aside the failures of the parties’ emissions are currently on an up climb. Research by the Global Carbon Project said emissions rose 2.7% in 2018, mainly because of an increase in oil consumption. A growth of 1.6% was also registered in 2017, ending a three-year period when emissions had slowed down.

References

1. Caixa Bank Research, the climate challenge; the future of the world at stake, 2019
2. Climate Action Tracker
3. UNEP IPCC special reports on emission scenarios, 2000
4. The editors of Encyclopedia Britannica
5. Wikipedia
6. Columbia law, Michael B. Gerrard, December 2016.
7. ZME science platform, 2019
8. World Resources Institute, 2018
9. European commission, Climate Action Platform

Hire purchase agreements are agreements whereby an owner of goods allows a person, the hirer, to hire goods from him for a specified time while paying the owner in scheduled instalments. The hirer has an option to buy the goods at the end of the agreement if all installments are being paid. Hire Purchase Agreements however, are not contracts of sale but contracts of bailment as the hirer merely has an option to buy the goods. The hirer has the right of using the goods but he is not the legal owner during the term of the agreement.

Hire Purchase is a way of financing the sale of goods at a future date. Section 24 of The Hire-Purchase Act,1974 (NRCD 292) in the interpretation section defines a Hire Purchase Agreement as an agreement for the bailment of goods under which the bailee may buy the goods or under which the property in the goods will or may pass to the bailee. With a Hire Purchase Agreement, the hirer has an option to purchase the goods or not and also, property does not pass until full purchase price has been made.

Under common law, a hire-purchase agreement is an agreement under which the owner of the goods delivers them to the hirer in exchange for a periodic payment made by the hirer, and further agrees that the hirer can return and terminate the agreement or purchase the goods at the end of the contract period. In summary, a hire purchase agreement is an agreement in which the hirer pays in instalments with the option to purchase the goods, but is not liable to do so.

There are some key features of Hire Purchase Agreements which set them apart from any other type of contract; the first of which is the element of hire. In a hire purchase agreement, the hirer enjoys the goods in return for certain periodic payments made to the owner. It implies a relationship in which property of the owner temporarily goes into the possession of the hirer until the hirer effectively exercises the option to purchase.

The second element of a Hire Purchase Agreement is the option to purchase. In this agreement the owner is said to make an irrevocable offer to sell the goods to the hirer, with the hirer having the option of either purchasing the goods, or returning them, thereby terminating the Hire Purchase Agreement. The hirer may exercise the option to buy the goods by paying what is known as an option fee which is a supplementary and minimal amount of money paid after he has paid the scheduled instalments to the owner. After payment of the additional nominal sum, the property in the goods will be transferred from the owner to the hirer. Also, the option fee may be included into the stated instalments made to the owner so that after has fulfilled his obligation in meeting all the payments due, the property in the goods will automatically confer in the hirer.

The elements of a Hire Purchase Agreement is perfectly couched in the case of Helby v Matthews. A piano was hired to an individual, the contract providing that he was to retain possession of the piano while he kept up the payment instalments. At the end of the term, he was given an option to purchase but before that time, the hirer pledged the piano to a pawnbroker and defaulted on the payments. It was held that upon the true construction of the agreement, the hirer was under no legal obligation to buy, but had an option either to return the piano or to become its owner by payment in full; that by putting it out of his power to return the piano he had not become bound to buy; that he had therefore not ‘agreed to buy goods’ within the meaning of the Factors Act 1889 s. 9, and that the owner was entitled to recover the piano from the pawnbroker.

To meet the requirements of a valid and successful hire-purchase agreement, the following must be observed:

Firstly, before an agreement is made, the seller or owner shall orally and in writing to the prospective hirer or buyer, otherwise than in the agreement referred to in Section 1, the price at which the goods may be purchased for cash and the hire-purchase price or the total purchase price. It is felt that the requirement of stating both prices in writing will aid the buyer in understanding the terms of the transaction.

Secondly, for a hire purchase agreement to be enforceable, the agreement must be in writing and signed by the hirer or buyer by or on behalf of any other parties to the agreement. Note that the owner is required to sign the agreement; this is to see that he takes a direct step in the formation of the agreement and its procedures.

Thirdly, the agreement shall contain

• a statement of the cash price and the hire-purchase price or total purchase price, as the case may be, of the goods;
• the amount of each instalment by which the price is to be paid and the date or the mode of determining the date upon which each instalment is payable;
• a description or list of the goods to which the agreement relates sufficient to identify them;
• a notice, which is at least as prominent as the rest of the contents of the agreement, in the terms set out in the First or Second Schedule to this Decree.

A copy of the agreement shall be delivered or sent to the hirer or buyer within 14 days after the making of the agreement.

Failure to follow such requirements listed above have huge implications on both parties, especially the owner of the goods. The law seeks to protect the hirer in this situation because he is the most vulnerable party in the agreement and as such the law imposes harsh measures on the owner to serve as a check in ensuring that there is no deviousness on the part of the owner in the agreement.

The consequences of unenforceability on the part of the owner includes

• He shall not be entitled to enforce any contract of guarantee relating to that agreement;
• No security given by the hirer or buyer in respect of money payable under the agreement, or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under a contract of guarantee relating to the agreement, shall be enforceable against the hirer or buyer, or against the guarantor, as the case may be, by the holder of such a security; and
• The owner or seller shall not be entitled to enforce any right to recover the goods from the hirer or buyer.

The consequences on the part of the hirer for failure to enforce the contract are less severe. A consequence of unenforceability on the part of the hirer is the termination of the contract which then removes any obligations from the parties and establishes them back to their respectful positions before the agreement was made.

Where the parties fail to comply with the requirement in Section (1) (b) which talks about the price at which goods may be purchased for cash and the hire-purchase price, Section (1) (c) which talks about the date and description of the goods and section 3(2) which is the requirement to deliver the copy of the agreement, the court can exercise its discretion and still hold the agreement enforceable if it considers it just and equitable to do so and if it’s clear that the omission of those requirement has not prejudiced the hirer in any way.

This is seen in the case of Mensah v Osei. The defendant let a second-hand car to the plaintiff on a hire purchase agreement for the price to be paid in various installments. The hire purchase agreement however did not contain the various notices prescribed in the hire purchase Act, 1958 which were that there must be a notice which relates to the rights of the hirer to terminate the agreement by returning the goods and restriction on the owner’s right to recover the goods after a certain percentage price has been paid. The car developed a fault and the plaintiff sent it to repairs to which the repairs cost was debited to the defendant. Later, the defendant seized the car as a result of arrears in the installments payable. The plaintiff sued for the return of the car contending that the agreement lacked the basic requirement as specified by the Act. The court held that although there were clear breach of the act, in that it did not incorporate the statutory notice as to the hirer’s right to terminate the hire agreement, the court will presume that the plaintiff knew at all times as everybody is presumed to know the law that he could terminate the hire-purchase agreement if he wished. Failure to comply with section 4 (2) (c) of NRCD 292 has therefore not prejudiced the plaintiff in any way. The court thus used its discretion here.

Any provision in a hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement shall be void to the extent that it provides that—

• an owner or seller or any person acting on his behalf is authorized to enter upon any private land or premises for the purpose of taking possession of goods which have been let under a hire-purchase agreement or sold under a conditional sale agreement or is relieved from liability for such an entry; or
• the right conferred on a hirer by section 5 to terminate the hire-purchase agreement is excluded or restricted, or any liability beyond that imposed by section 6 is imposed on a hirer by reason of the termination of the hire-purchase agreement by him or under that section; or
• a hirer, after the termination of the hire-purchase agreement or the bailment in any manner whatsoever, is subject to a liability which exceeds the liability to which he would have been subject if the agreement had been terminated by him under this Decree; or
• any person acting on behalf of an owner or seller in connection with a hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement is treated as or deemed to be the agent of the hirer or buyer; or
• an owner or seller is relieved from liability for the acts or defaults of any person acting on his behalf in connection with a hire-purchase or conditional sale agreement.

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are treaties between two or more countries to promote trade without any hindrance, and thus to ensure smooth outflow of goods and service across the countries territory.

There is a long history and theory behind the formation of FTAs. One of the earliest concepts which supported FTAs was comparative advantage theory given by the Economist “David Ricardo”. This theory states to overall increase the production of the world by producing at its lowest opportunity cost, but it would only possible with the assumption of zero tariff and free movement of capital. Therefore, on the basis of this theory free trade areas were developed to enrich trade benefits.

A very young organization, Which regulates FTAs was formed in 1995 is known as the World Trade Organisation( WTO). It was successor to the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) and was formed under the Marrakesh Agreement to control all bilateral and multilateral agreement between different nations.

Pakistan and China were among founding members of WTO and are two close neighbouring countries with a young age of 72 and 70 years respectively. Pakistan and China have long term friendly relations which are termed as “all Weather Friendship”. These relations were further strengthened with Pakistan when china changed its neutral position for Kashmir and took a stance that the Kashmir issue must be resolved in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris people. To carry these relations steps ahead, In April 2005, Government of Pakistan and Government of the People’s Republic of China started negotiations and reached to an Free Trade Agreement in November 2006 at Islamabad Pakistan. Further in year 2009, China and Pakistan signed Trade in Service. Which objective was to enhance cooperation between countries in terms of distribution, marketing and delivery of services etc.

CPFTA Consumer Provisions

CPFTA is termed for Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and China. CPFTA implies the elimination of Tariffs for goods generating from both countries and deals against anti-dumping measures in the form of trade remedies.

CPFTA has a lot of provisions that ensure consumer protection through its provisions. First of all, CPFTA starts with the objective to promote public welfare within both countries. CPFTA comply with WTO measures and ensure compliance of all United nation guidelines by ensuring protection of consumers through its regulations. Agreement ensure application of Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures (SPS) in accordance with WTO objectives. CPFTA chapter of SPS and its article emphasize the protection of humans and animals life or health. Further, article 42 ensure publication of any changes to SPS by posting on WTO website so other members and general public must be aware with recent changes.

CPFTA chapter deals with technical barriers to trade and its article states to reduce cost between both parties which ultimately led to lower cost for goods and services for ultimate consumers. Term of consumers in FTAs can be extended to investors as well. Investors are also consumers as dealing in other countries. This is reason, it is said “educated investor is better protected consumers”. Chapter XI of CPFTA discuss detailed rights about investors from both countries. It gives all rights and protection without any future discriminatory measures against investors from any countries. Following chapter article 49 ensure no country will nationalize or expropriate any investment with any particular reasons. Article 50 of investment chapter ensures even in case of riots, national emergency and war, parties and consumers will be compensated by state if they have been effected . These provisions promote people from both countries to invest and purchase in others countries with full support of Chinese and Pakistani government. CPFTA also ensure there must be resolve of dispute settlement through diplomatic channels where both states will step in and try to resolve the issues. There are detailed article and sections which promote arbitration to resolve dispute settlement between parties. These are CPFTA consumer provisions that are very important in today’s world to kept evolving with time.

Should there be Consumers Protection Provision in FTAs

As Individual empowerment is one of world biggest mega trend, which led to raise of voices against wrong doers and unethical practices. This is reason Governments have started including more provisions for consumers in theirs FTAs to not only give more rights to consumers but also further enforce their domestic regulations through FTAs.

In modern world, business sell their customer information to third parties those who use it for their own advantages without consent of consumers. In case of Pharamcy2U v ICO (2015), UK largest NHS-approved online pharmaceutical company was held liable by for 130000 pounds for selling their customers data to marketing company. Therefore, It is responsibility of involved states to protect consumer information while interactions with businesses. Customer information is not being leaked or pass onto third party whether it’s B2B market or B2C market information across the borders. There is big business of selling business data to other business in china which impact impact the privacy of local consumers and other countries consumers dealing with Chinese companies. This is a reason, PRC government has passed cyber security law in year 2017 to protect unauthorised use of personal information.

World Trade Organisation demand states to ensure consumers get safe products which are safe from all type of risk. Aim of FTAs is not only to improve economy of involved countries but also provide consumers better quality goods and services which they could not have avail without these agreements. Having such type of provisions will be compliance of WTO measures of Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and ultimately safer products to consumers.

Different countries have domestic regulations for imports and exports. Australian border force have prohibited certain goods which cannot be imported. These provisions further enforce domestic regulations through FTAs with other nations as well.

Consumers get effected by misleading and deceptive conduct of business even across the borders. Consumers buying products online especially are misrepresented in terms of quality and price. Thus, there must be provisions for customer where people can report their problem in case of frauds, overcharge and poor quality products across the border. These are reason, why OECD started global awareness to educated consumers against scammers and product safety. Hence, having these provisions for consumers in FTAs will boost consumer trust on businesses across the borders and will increasing trade among participating countries. [16: ‘Safety Of Products Sold Online – OECD’, Oecd.Org (Webpage, 2019) .]

Lot of countries don’t get freely access to basic goods and service which are very important for survival. Approximately 1.6 million Africans died of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV-related illnesses in 2015.These diseases can be prevented or treated with timely access to appropriate and affordable medicines. Therefore, especially in case of developing countries where people don’t have access to all medication, those countries must set mechanism to get those medicine without any delays as part of their FTAs. Pakistan is the latest country to suffer with severe dengue outbreak, but Pakistan don’t have enough dengue medication. So, Government of Pakistan ensure mechanism to get this medication from any specific country with whom they are already dealing as part of their FTAs. That will ensure smooth outflow of medication into country.

Analysis and Recommendations

Though, it’s very important to have consumer provisions in FTAs but provisions need to effective and relevant for general people. Comparing CPFTA with other countries FTAs highlight big differences. CPFTA does not have adequate consumer protection provisions in CPFTA and in Trade in services. Whereas, EU-Vietnam agreement have detailed chapter for services and e-commerce and aim to promote electronic trade. CPFTA has set our rules on investment, on other hand EU-Korea and EU- Vietnam had also address these measures. CPFTA also deal with SPS and TBT like other FTAs. But being very realistic, compliance of SPS and TBT itself does not constitute enough consumer protection.

There is increasing trend of e-commerce in Pakistan, as 2.3 times e-commerce payments has increased in year 2018. Therefore it’s very important for both Governments to involve e-commerce trade rules and its related provisions to have updated agreements and change their rules according to changing demand of people. These will create easiness for both countries consumers to trade online. Moreover, having chapters and provisions for consumers on E-Commerce is not enough in Trade in services . There must be domestic institutions in Pakistan and china that work for awareness of consumers while purchase of good and services online. As Australian Competition and Consumer commission has full guidelines for general public how to protect from scammers and in case consumers are subject to scam and misleading conduct, and how ACCC will rescue effected consumers. Both Governments should also scrutinize those online sellers and are certified rather than just including these provisions in FTAs. This will prevent consumers from any type of misleading conduct by sellers. Consumer effective provisions will led to better choices to consumers and will make better standard of living in country.

Pakistan initiated another round of dialogue with after receiving complaints by sellers of Pakistan that CPFTA are more in favour of china and to which these both countries made amendments. Which means there are sellers and producers protections provisions too.

Having more consumers provisions in Trade in services for e-commerce and its related provision will make consumer experience very good and which might led too much negative balance of payment for countries. Especially Pakistan has negative balance of payments from so many years and further easiness for consumers will create more pressure on their trade account. They will prefer more goods from china through e-commerce. Following picture shows how every year Pakistan imports from china are increasing.

Therefore, too much consumer provisions in FTAs varies from country to country. Here in given context, more provisions might benefit big economy of china and consumers in both countries but it would overall impact Pakistan economy negatively. If country is developing where people don’t prefer to online shopping across the border there is not much need for Ecommerce provisions for consumers in FTAs. In case of Pakistan, one fifth of population only use internet and big market is cash based where people prefer in person shopping. According to current financial position of Pakistan, China is considered as biggest reason for trade deficit. Pakistan only exports fruits and vegetables and small value goods, whereas in return get machinery and high tech goods from china. To rescue its currency, Pakistan get its loan from china and this is reason china is claimed as problem and solution for Pakistan. Moreover, Pakistan has a small developing economy and critics argue about FTAs, that these are made for the enactment of foreign policy rather than bilateral economic benefits. Powerful countries use these FTAs to impose their will over smaller power countries and the same case goes with Pakistan.

Therefore, there must be consumer provision with parallel legislation which does not impact economic conditions and same time protect consumer as well. With given scenarios, it can be concluded that provisions are essential in this modern world otherwise there is no mean of making free trade areas if consumer are not confident or don’t have any protection. Simultaneously, It must be ensured with basic provisions, current situations of country must be consider before having provisions in FTAs.

Reference List

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19. Oecd.Org (Webpage, 2019) https://www.oecd.org/daf/fin/financial-education/49648648.pdf
20. ‘Pakistan’S Currency Crisis: China’S The Problem And Solution’, South China Morning Post (Webpage, 2019) https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2153614/pakistans-currency-crisis-china-problem-and-solution

The achievement of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement in 1998 created history, where for the first time the contentious and previously irreconcilable differences between the rigid stance assumed by the opposing factions reached a situation of a possible harmony in a manner that was acceptable to the concerned parties-after 30 years of violence. This ground-breaking Agreement resulted in a new political system, designed to balance power sharing between the two communities. While the Agreement is a mere 30 pages long, it deals with a ‘host of interrelated issues associated with how to approach, represent, remember and acknowledge the history of violence’ (Armstrong, et al., 2019, p. 89). The Agreement has been ‘extraordinary’ according to McGarry in three ways, it is ‘consociational, it is coherent, and it is maximal in its commitments’ (2001 , p. 89). The Agreement has also brought about remarkable change in many arenas, foremost amongst them has been the fact that political violence has largely ceased – while threats from dissident groups remain, there has been a sharp fall in the rates of street crime. Further with the power sharing government in place, both sides have had to work together for the overall good of the country instead of banging on partisan drums. The Agreement also generated much needed international goodwill, helping the country develop for the better. Additionally, significant change can be seen in the mindset of young people- who have started to be more flexible in their identity rejecting the binary of being either Irish or British and instead associating as being from Northern Ireland. Economically the country has flourished due to an influx of foreign investment and overseas tourism. However, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the entrenched sectarianism. Which while disheartening still has scope for improvement. (Whysall, 2018)

Strengths

One of the many yet more significant successes of the Good Friday Agreement was that it ‘repositioned the British state, so that it no longer sat at the apex of an unstable triangular structure of conflict’.(Todd, 2003 , p. 5) Todd goes on to define a ‘Triangular Conflict’ as one where ‘two communities come into unequal and mutually dependent relations with a state.’ Stating that it is quintessentially found in nations having born the yolk of colonialism. The situation in Northern Ireland being one where the functioning of the state itself is affected by communal discord, especially in securing of order in its territory. This happens because there is no single agent who can assert order especially given that the state itself is complict in the conflict and it actions are limited by the fact that it is dependent on one or more of the communities involved in said conflict. The Agreement gives the British state in effect two major roles, according to Todd, who states that the first is that it makes them in effect ‘an arbiter of the internal communal conflict’, and secondly it places the British state in a position whereby it is a ‘comanager of the ethno-national conflict together with the Irish state’. The way that the Agreement deals with this issue is to secure egalitarian binational policies, some examples of this can be seen in the parity in roles of the First Minister and the Deputy First minister, as well the right of citizens to possess either or both English and Irish passports (2003 , p. 5). Ergo the Agreement transformed the original structure of inequality and dominance and replaced it with a more egalitarian system and creates the continued frame work for bilateral dialogue between the British and Irish states. The conflict thus has moved from an unstable triangular conflict to a more stable symmetrical form with scholars currently suggesting that there is a shift towards a ‘multi-variable conflict’ which is a direct result of the emergence of multiple power centres in communities as they compete for resources (Todd, 2003 , p. 2). According to Pollak, the reason this Agreement works so well, is due to the fact that it has a ‘complex system of checks and balances’, he further states that the institutions it puts forwards are not only complex but that they also cover such a wide range of subjects that people have no reason to mistrust it. (2001, p. 13)

An additional success of the Agreement is that it to a great extent attempts to put forward a working system of ‘equality and human rights’(Fenton, 2018). Cohen extrapolates on this idea in a more coherent manner when he says that ‘if orange domination of green was wrong and unworkable, green domination of orange would be equally wrong and unworkable… if you want to create a stable and constructive relationship between the two communities, it is pointless to try to do so except on the basis of equality’, he goes on to say that the Agreement has the ability to rise above the “either/or” mentality and therefore circumvents the zero-sum outlook (2001, p. 5) (2008, p. 38) Durkan furthers this understanding by saying that the agreement did many things but the one thing that it did not do was ‘make nationalists unionists in waiting. Nor does it make unionists nationalists in waiting’, he says that it provided a shared island where both sides are free to ‘pursue and promote their constitutional preferences while working together on the important economic, social and environmental issues’ (Durkan, 2002). The Agreement brings about this egalitarianism through several clauses which not only acknowledge the central problems affecting the peaceful coexistence between the two communities, but also puts forwards structural solutions which are acceptable, taking into consideration the geopolitical status quo. It protects the status of Northern Ireland in a manner whereby they have the ability to hold a referendum- where if a majority votes to leave the United Kingdom, they will be free to do so; it provides an adequate mechanism for ending the partition; the Agreement also focuses heavily upon the promotion of inter communal equality where it acknowledged the cultural diversity of the region and that respecting the cultures, traditions, symbols etc of one another’s communities is essential, allowing for free expression of ones ideologies without repercussion; it also provides for dual citizenship to those living in Northern Ireland, where they can choose to either be Irish, British or both (Coakley, 2001). Another very interesting dimension of the Agreement which brings about equality for everybody who resides within its territory is that it gave impetus to the ‘issue of cultural diversity …extending to the issues of smaller language groups… such as the Ulster Scots’ (Craith, 2001, p. 2) through instances like this the Agreement shows time and again that it paid great attention to detail and ensures that no minority community would be left out of the negotiations.

Weaknesses

A consistent scholastic view on the most prominent drawbacks of the Agreement is that it failed to address institutionalised sectarianism which has a deep negative consequence on the peace process. ‘The entrenchment of group identities has reinforced divisions and fuelled intercommunal conflict’ (Neuhesier & Wolff, 2002, pp. 40-42). If one were to undertake a deeper appreciation of the facts underlying the forgoing statement, the following would present themselves as obvious conclusions,

under these circumstances the peace process has left a lot of perceived hotspots unattended and unresolved the resultant of course is that Northern Ireland remains a divided society. At present there are more peace walls now than there were in 1998 and 74% of the local populace live in single community housing zones regardless of the fact that almost four fifths of them would like to live in a religiously mixed area (BlackBourn & Rekawek, 2008, p. 38). The BlackBourn and Rekawek report goes on to show that about 57% of Protestant respondents felt that the increase in the number of peace walls was due to security threats from the other community while only a third of the Catholics shared this view, and about 30% of respondents on both sides felt that sectarianism was to blame.

The remaining viewed the walls to be a response to either bigotry or the inability of communities to forget the past. Other areas of segregation can be seen in both education and housing, where the common understanding should be that segregated schools and housing further a ‘us versus them’ mentality which leads to the further development of the sectarian mind frames. A large number of young people in Northern Ireland do not experience cross community education until they attend university, this has caused ‘ethno-religious isolation reinforcing intra-sectoral bias, stereotyping and prejudice’ (Borooah & Knox, 2015).

Another weakness of the Agreement was that it did not sufficiently address the issue of Paramilitaries and their sphere of influence. A popular opinion here being that the Agreement was ‘a product of violence’ and attempted to ‘buy off paramilitaries’ to prevent further violence (Neuhesier & Wolff, 2002, p. 32). Depending on one’s opinion Northern Ireland functions as a democracy or at the very least it aspires to function as one, keeping this in mind, the existence of political parties associated with paramilitary wings is at clear odds with democratic ideals. The Agreement further does not account for the ‘ inability of paramilitaries to provide sufficient confidence in the durability of their cease fires, through the decommissioning of weapons and the ending of violence’ (Neuhesier & Wolff, 2002, pp. 40-42). This threat to the rule of law can be see very clearly not only the continued terrorist threat from both dissident republicans and loyalists, but also by the obvious lack of regard paramilitaries hold for “ending violence” which they make blatantly clear by the continuation of punishment attacks, and murder of people who they allege are part of gangs or drug dealers. Since 1998 there has been a notable decline in the number of incidences related to paramilitary violence, statistics from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister’s Good Relations Indicators Baseline Report show that the number of deaths have fallen from 55 in 1998 to 5 in 2005 (2008, p. 63). However the BlackBourn and Rekawek report also stated that when opinions were gathered on weather the Agreement was a reason for the decrease in violence, 50% of Protestants and 84% of Catholics though so, this suggests according to the report that ‘more of the low level violent acts, which often are unreported, are perpetrated in the loyalist communities than in the nationalist/republican heartlands’ (2008, p. 70). However, the latest report goes on to show that while the rates of murders have decreased, the violence is still prominent, where in 2017/18, 576 sectarian motivated hate crimes were recorded (decreased since 2016/17 by 118). (2018, p. 4)

A further consequence of this gap which is little spoken of is highlighted by Fenton when she talks about how the Agreement was so focused on sectarian violence that it overlooked the fact that domestic and sexual violence increased exponentially during the troubles. She states that this was possible only because firearms were more easily accessible and that women’s access to justice was hampered by the breakdown in normal policing. (2018, p. 163). The reluctance on the part of the state to tackle paramilitarism and criminality can be viewed as putting the peace process in peril. The only way to address this glaring inconsistency according to Bew (2007, p. 50) is if the government stops turning ‘a blind eye to gun-running and murder’, and that it has to take notice of how subversive these are to a genuine peace process.

Looking forward

The Agreement constituted an honourable compromise between the competing factions within Northern Ireland and the governments of the United Kingdom and the republic of Ireland. This has however resulted in failure, because the pro agreement parties have been obstinate in accommodating one another concerns, the obvious ones being in ‘Interpretation, sequencing and who is responsible for action’ (Neuhesier & Wolff, 2002). In Northern Ireland today, the Agreement has started to lose the relevance it enjoyed years ago, this can be seen in many ways, primarily due to the change that society is undergoing. The most noticeable is that the ‘power- sharing government’ that it established has not functioned in over a year with the backing of both major parties, and now with Brexit underway, the issue of the Irish border becomes of vital importance (Whysall, 2018). The Agreement is also beginning to show its age where its provisions are no longer relevant in the modern social context, as most of its provisions were designed with sectarianism as a backdrop, it fails to address discrimination in forms other than ethno-national, key amongst these are the rights of the LGBTQ community and those of women (Fenton, 2018, p. 162). As the Agreement was a constitutional, political project, it did not aim at addressing the economic or social shortcomings of the country in detail, therefore one cannot place the blame for the lack of success on individuals or communities (BlackBourn & Rekawek, 2008, p. 76). The only way forward is to implement reforms to the Agreement, they way to do this according to Neuhesier and Wolff is by, removing designations, by reforming the electoral system and making it more cross-communal, and to introduce collective responsibility in the Executive, they believe that ‘top-down power sharing should be complemented with bottom-up reconciliation within the community’ (2002, p. 44).

Conclusion

The Agreement provided Northern Ireland with an opportunity to re-imagine its future, and to ‘be a beacon of hope for other societies coming out of conflict.’ It serves as a facilitator and promoter of good governance which must be founded on ‘equality, human rights, good relations and social justice.’ These values must inform not only policy but also be the basis of all future relations the state has with the world as well as within its own communities (Council, 2017, p. 6). It dealt with the conflict on two distinct yet related ways, it is a political deal which provides for a governance with power-sharing, allowing for the two communities to work together harmoniously despite their different interests, aspirations and allegiances, it also functions as a means to address the conflict in ways that are transformative to society. As a political deal it addressed the conflict of communal interests, of political legitimacy and more importantly it continues to address the future. It further tries to acknowledge and redress the roots of sectarianism, to reconcile Northern Ireland (Ruane & Todd, 1999, p. 16). The Agreement was nothing short of miraculous in not just its aims but also the feats it achieved, it gave the country a much-needed respite from the violence that was its heritage and hope for a much brighter, shared future.

North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

The assention came into power on January 1,1994 , was marked by three nations Canada,Mexico and joined states ,which makes pyramidal exchange alliance in north America. The NAFTA arrangements have been in progress since Aug. 16, 2017. The objective was to ‘modernize’ the exchange agreement, with U.S., Mexican and Canadian. The exchange between these three nations was helped from $297 billion to $1.17 trillion between the year 1993 and 2017. It aslo expands the monetary development, benefits and occupations for every nation. It aslo diminished the expansion hazard and furthermore keep the inerest rate low.

THE CANADA CHILE FREE TRADE AGREEMENT (CCFTA)

In action since July 1997. It was set apart at Santiago, Chile on fifth of December 1996 and was came into power on July 5, 1997. 75 percent of trade obligations between these two countries were finished quickly.

Reciprocal stock exchange has dramatically multiplied since the Canada-Chile FTA came into power, developing to $2.4 billion out of 2016. Toward the finish of 2016, the load of Canadian interest in Chile was $16.5 billion, making Chile the best immediate speculation goal in South and Central America.

ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC CORPORATION (APEC)

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is a local monetary gathering set up in 1989 to use the developing relationship of the Asia-Pacific. APEC has 21 people.

APEC’s 21 section economies are Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People’s Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of America; Viet Nam.

APEC guarantees that merchandise, administrations, speculation and individuals move effectively crosswise over outskirts. Individuals encourage this exchange through quicker traditions systems at outskirts; progressively good business atmospheres behind the fringe; and adjusting controls and measures over the area.

I might want to concentrate on Asia Pacific Economic Corporation, since it is simpler having facilitated commerce between 21 nations which may diminish the cost of the products and duties of exchanging.

CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES OF ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC CORPORATION

• Organized commerce Areas.
• APECs select nature .
• Effects on harmonization in APEC.
• Elite spotlight on exchange advancement .
• Absence of an obvious meaning of objectives .
• Task instrument and Institutionalized development this implies more talk and less work.
• Segregation
• Production of Sub-provincial cooperatives/Shift of thoughtfulness regarding reciprocal/plurilateral.

BENEFITS OF ASIA PACIFIC ECONOMIC CORPORATION:

Tarrifs

A duty is a charge forced by a country on imported merchandise that contend with items delivered locally. APEC tries to lower or dispense with levies so as to advance the free trade of products between nations.

International investments

APEC gives a critical discussion to monetary advancement and makes projects and activity designs that catalyze the stream of private capital into part countries.

Trade agreement

APEC has connected the set up economies of nations like Japan and the United States with mid-level economies like Korea and Chinese Taipei and creating economies like Vietnam and Paupa New Guinea by advancing and encouraging exchange assentions.

Business development

APEC concentrated on improvement of little and medium undertakings, as these endeavors are the essential factor of solid economy of the nation.

Sharing of technology

Connected innovative work extends between part countries are produced through APEC. These add to more profound organization connections, which settle security and accommodate consistent financial development.

Implications of Canadian Business

While exchanging of colombia with Canadian business have a few ramifications under Asia Pacific Economic Coporation. These are, Canadian government adopts an entire of-government strategy to its two-sided relations with Colombia through its political, business, improvement, and harmony and security programming. The relationship incorporates: extending exchange and venture, encouraged by the 2011 reciprocal organized commerce understanding; a straight to the point discourse on human rights; improvement participation; bolster for Colombia’s equity, security and harmony building endeavors; developing portability between our two nations (the travel industry, think about, business, migration) and individuals to-individuals connections; and, close collaboration on multilateral issues. Canada’s help encourages Colombia react to destitution, disparity and brutality by ensuring human rights, making financial open doors for defenseless populaces, enhancing security conditions, reacting to compassionate needs and supporting peacebuilding endeavors. Engaging ladies and young ladies, supporting usage of the harmony understanding, and driving advancement development, are up front in Canada’s universal help endeavors in Colombia.

Conclusion

As per me, organized commerce understandings are increasingly useful for exchanging with creating and mid dimension economies,as they get work and goods at lower cost and developed nations contributes more to look for more benefit.

Before we go into defusing the tensions between both parties, they must first understand what a Collective Agreement is. A Collective Agreement according to the (Labour Relations and disputes act, 1975), is made (in whatever way and in whatever form) between one or more organizations representing workers and either one or more employers, one or more organizations representing employers, or a combination of one or more employers and one or more organizations representing employers.

Since we have made the two sides aware of what is a collective agreement, we are now going to go through the steps of collective bargaining. Collective bargaining is the negotiation process that takes place when certain issues arise between an employer and a group of employees, according to (Content Team, 2014). Workers depend on a union member to represent them during the negotiation process, and the negotiations also address issues such as working conditions, security of workers, hiring, salaries, and layoffs.

According to (Content Team, 2014), there are five core steps the employees of Dunns Chinese Restaurant and Robert the employer should follow in the bargaining process.

• Preparation – choosing a negotiating team as well as labour and employer representatives. Both sides should be competent in negotiation and labour laws, and both study the information available to determine whether they have a good negotiating position.
• Discussion – Both parties meet to create ground rules for the collective bargaining negotiation process.
• Proposal – Both members make comments about the transparency, choices and potential solutions to the problem.
• Bargaining – Following suggestions, the parties discuss potential approaches and negotiate to develop a suitable compromise for both parties. This becomes a ‘draft’ agreement, not legally binding, but a step towards the completion of a final collective bargaining agreement.
• Final Agreement – Once an agreement has been reached between the parties, it must be put into effect in writing, signed by the parties.

To order to avoid strikes and lockouts, collective bargaining is used as an effort to reach an agreement. Strike is a work stoppage by a group of employees due to a labor dispute, and lockout is where employers remove employees from the place of employment or termination of a group of employees (Labour Relations and conflicts Act, 1975).

Collective Agreement

According to the Jamaica Labour Relations Code (1976), Section 18, Collective Agreement is define as a written document that enshrined terms and conditions accepted by both employers and workers from the collective bargaining process, and contain substantive and procedural provisions. Copies of Collective Agreements should be submitted to the Ministry of Labor and Employment for their records.

Interpretation and Application of Collective Agreement

Previously the collective agreement was that workers would work on Mondays to Fridays from 10 am to 10 pm. They ( workers) receive a 4% increase yearly with a week salary for bonus and from good out of good faith depending on the business performance an additional 2 % for increase. Therefore if Robert is planning on changing these working conditions and salary package he need to meet with the union repetitive in order for them to set a new “collective agreement”. This agreement should incorporate the new working days, overtime, salary packages.

Types of Agreements

There are two types of provisions in the collective agreements, each proving different types of information to the agreement. These agreements are Substantive and Procedural provision. Substantive provisions would be related to all previous agreements make by the previous owner Mr. Dunn and the worker’s trade union, while procedural would relate to new negotiation of terms and procedure to be followed.

The agreement that will be applied in this case is procedural this is because there must be a new arrangement that will incorporate the new working days, hours and salary to be paid.

The scope of collective agreement

Since the concept of the scope for collective bargaining agreement seeks to identify the category of employers and employee that a given collective agreement apply, these categories (group) can be create by geographical area, types of economic activity and or personnel.

The scope of economic activities relates to the process whereby price of labor need to be determine (wages, working hours and other terms) and agreed upon my employers and employee.

Within the given case the scope of the collective agreement is derive by economic activity, this is so based on the facts that Robert wants to open the restaurant on the weekend which would lead to longer working hours. He also wants to cut cost that may come from cutting jobs and lowering people’s pay.

Mechanisms for enforcing compliance of collective agreement

• a. Grievance procedure
• b. Disciplinary procedure
• c. Sanctions
• d. Suspensions
• e. Dismissals
• f. Promotion

Firstly, the core of a grievance procedure is to provide an avenue where employees, without endangering his job, can express a complaint regarding his work or working conditions and obtain an unbiased hearing. (Eaton & Keefe 1999) Grievances are brought to the employee’s immediate supervisor. This may be either an informal process or the beginning of the formal process. Generally, there will be a requirement that the grievance be submitted in writing (Holley, Jennings & Wolters 2009).If there is no resolution, the grievance may be eventually presented to the highest levels of management. If still unresolved, the assistance of an outside arbitrator may be required.

Secondly, discipline is defined as a ‘constructive action instigated by management against an employee who fails to meet reasonable and legitimate expectations in terms of performance, conduct or adherence to rules’ (Corbridge & Pilbeam 1998). The disciplinary procedure used in the workplace may encompass an oral warning followed by a warning in writing if there is no sign of improvement. If behaviour persists, a final written warning may be issued, then finally, the employee may be suspended or dismissed. (Holley 2009).

Thirdly, sanctions are disciplinary actions that are imposed on employees, sanctions may be in the form of written or verbal warnings, demotions, transfer to other departments, and loss of privileges like bonuses, suspensions and dismissal. Prior to enforcing any sanction, management must ensure that the employment contract makes allowance for it, and the consequences are duly considered.

Regarding the case study, the best course of action to take is to follow the disciplinary procedure. Once the collective agreement is put in place, the manager, Robert, may advise employees that if they are non-compliant, a series of actions may be taken. These actions may be taken in order of violation, example, first violation would produce a verbal warning, second violation, a first written warning, third violation, final written warning. Continued non-compliant behaviour may eventually result in suspension and then eventually, dismissal.

References

1. Corbridge, M., & Pilbeam, S. (1998). Employment resourcing. London: Financial Times/Pitman Pub.
2. Eaton, A. E., Keefe, J. H., & Industrial Relations Research Association. (1999). Employment dispute resolution and worker rights in the changing workplace. Champaign, IL: Industrial Relations Research Association
3. Holley, W. H., Jennings, K. M., & Wolters, R. S. (2009). The labor relations process. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
4. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/13616/116901/F-735077660/JAM13616.pdf
5. https://moj.gov.jm/sites/default/files/laws/Laboour%20Relations%20and%20Industrial%20Disputes%20Act.pdf

Purpose of the Document

This document’s main purpose is to study, investigate and research SLA (Service Level Agreement) for Caravan park called Coast to Country Parks (CPP Clubs) which has many independent caravan parks which provide accommodations to members of the public club in every Australian state. The report demonstrates about Service Level Agreement (SLA) along with their main components, description of the service catalogue and IT SLA criteria recommendations.

Introduction

Coast to Country Parks (CPP Club) is recently settled travel accommodation which objective is to provide enhanced services like other clubs by building loyalty amongst the members of the public joining the club. Traditional caravan parks have been substituted by new high-quality ones and many independent caravan parks which are at distinct disadvantage for variety of reasons join together to form clubs like CPP Club which offer quality services to customers. Presently, the people joining the CPP Club has been increasing. Although the IT team handles the increase requirement well but the club needs to know about Service level Agreement (SLA) since there has been concern about their level of service currently. Clearly, it is seen that the CPP Club needs the install the SLA to remain competitive and maintain high standard.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

SLA (service level agreement) is the term that takes place between patron and the provider which has a purpose of offering quality services to customers without inconvenience. Provider must make customer aware about the services they are going to provide before they sign up, which makes it all crystal clear and avoid any possible dispute. Generally, three types of SLA can be implemented which are customer-based SLA, hierarchical SLA and service-based SLAs. Well, coast to country park (CCP Club) offers their patron, a good quality accommodation and to maintain that. They definitely require proper SLA so that consumers could get the better insight of the service they are using. It comprises the list of benefits in detailed way with mentioning clear what can they provide and what could they not. Some of the entities can also offer one glance at their past services provided, which makes the customer comfortable and undoubtful but since the CCP club is new in the business, they could give it a try with the best services in the segment to their consumers. Loyalty bonus and other hot deals can attract more customers and terms and condition for this should be clearly mention in the SLA for CCP club.

Major components of SLA

Key components for SLA are

• Foremost of all, service description should be there in the first raw that what sort of facilities and services are to be used by the customer when they sign up for the CCP club.
• Reporting procedure must confirm in the beginning of the creation of Service level agreement.
• Availability of their services must be there clarifying to the consumers what are the times and limits to using these services.
• In the predictive approach, it must say about the responsiveness towards the specific matter if it occurs and approximately how much time would it take to fix that up.
• Monitoring the efficiency of the services and their performance must be mentioned there in this technological fast paced world to value customer’s time.
• Any fines should be clearly pointing out in the SLA in case of the breaching of the terms and condition or any dispute for that matter so that customer can talk plausible in these types of scenarios.
• As the CCP club is new, they might encounter some newest problems so it should comprise all possible contingencies of obstacle in the services and their outcomes under which SLA says under which compromises whether a club can be liable of or not.

Service Catalogue

A service catalogue is a rundown of sorted out help that any or all business performed for, by or inside an association. A help resembles an administration instrument for everybody which empower to think about the administration and a point identified with administration, for example, who own it, responsibility and why they are work. A help list which give such sort of data has a controlled yield, info and cycles.

The service catalogue should be designed with the end customer in mind. Most importantly, the information necessary to request a service needs to be clearly defined with easy to understand instructions

For CCP club a service catalogue must be implemented in such a way that It can generate the tracking system from customer, request and discovery of service. A CCP catalogue must have element such as;

• i. Name of the service.
• ii. A clear and description of accountability and ownership for the service.
• iii. An identification label so that service type can be known bitterly.
• iv. A list of any supporting service
• v. Request service types
• vi. Associated cost
• vii. Who can request the service?
• viii. Service owner
• ix. Costs associated with the service
• x. Who to contact with questions?

CCP catalogue must be a part of Service Portfolio which is published to a guest and it support to sale.

Some of the benefits of system catalogue are:

1. Increased customer satisfaction
2. Improved resource allocation
3. Reduced overall service costs
4. Improved communication and collaboration

Recommendation

CCP Club should make the SLA inclusive of all the discussed details as above if they are aiming to increase their revenue in field of comfortable transportation business. However, the agreement can be divided into different types of services which can be the integral part of the IT vendor contract. It is important for the businesses related to IT sector. CCP Club needs to establish metric, reliability and responsibilities in one single document which is why SLA is such a good choice for that. However, it must pass through some legal procedures before getting approved. If not approved, then it cannot be used as the standard framework. The main focus of establishing SLA is to ensure that both parties have met the same level of understanding and is similarly aligned with technology and business so that any misunderstanding can be avoided.

Conclusion

In the following report, the benefits of SLA and ways to initialize the service level agreement for CCP Club has been discussed. In a nutshell, SLA is a legal contract bounded between a service provider and end user which is an important part for business. The elements of service should be decided which makes the SLA legal and always accepted by the customers to get better insights of the service available.

References

1. Alexander, M. (2019, August 5). Service-level agreements (SLAs): The key components project managers should know. Retrieved from TechRepublic: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/service-level-agreements-slas-the-key-components-project-managers-should-know/
2. Blokdyk, G. (June 19, ,2019). Service-level agreement A Complete Guide – 2019 Edition. Emereo Publishing.
3. Desai, J. (October 14, 2010). Service Level Agreement. It Governance Publishing Ltd.
4. Overby, S., & Paul, L. G. (2017, July 5). What is SLA? Retrieved from CIO: https://www.cio.com/article/2438284/outsourcing-sla-definitions-and-solutions.html
5. Overby, S., & Paul, L. G. (n.d.). What is SLA?
6. Rae, B. (2016, May 4). The real value of Service Catalogue. Retrieved from joetheITguy: https://www.joetheitguy.com/the-real-value-of-service-catalogue/

On February 4,2020 the State of the Union Address was given by Donald Trump, to the 116th U.S. Congress. The address covered a number of topics that President Trump plans to implement into the American Society for this upcoming year and to show people his vision for the United States. Since our president has been in office he has made a lot of considerable promises. During his address he talked about our economy, national security, and asked Congress to pass bills regarding abortion and prescription drug prices. Two of President Trumps key proposals was his United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) and his vision for health care reform.

When President Trump’s administration started, Trump made the American people a promise to replace the NAFTA trade deal. On January 9th, 2020 he signed the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). A more technical definition of the agreement is “It rolls back a special system of arbitration for corporations that has drawn bipartisan condemnation, and includes additional provisions designed to help identify and prevent labor violations, particularly in Mexico. Some of those changes were inserted at the insistence of Democrats, who used their control of the House to secure long-desired policy changes” (Swanson 1). In simpler terms the USMCA has made more car production, stronger labor laws in Mexico, less protection for drug companies and ending a special system of arbitration for companies.

This trade deal has a lot of mixed views from different senators. One surprising positive reaction that I saw was from Joe Biden. A Biden campaign spokesperson told POLITICO “Biden does not believe that USMCA is an ideal deal, but supports it given the improvements that the labor and progressive movements won to improve it,” (Cassella). As a Democrat it was surprising to see him publicly support one of President Trump’s major promises because when he was in office he did not make any public remarks about NAFTA. Another senator, Amy Klobuchar also talked about her view on the USMCA. At the December Democratic debate Klobuchar said, “I’ll go with my friend, Sherrod Brown, who has voted against every trade agreement that’s come in front of him, and he’s voting for this, and I am, too. And the reason I am voting for it is that I believe that we have a change with this agreement. I would not have voted for the agreement that President Trump put forward, but we’ve got better labor standards, better environmental standards, and a better deal when it comes to the pharmaceutical provision, which I also opposed,”(Phillips).. She expressed her concerns and even brought someone else’s opinion into the argument that this deal needed to be put into place.

Regarding this trade deal there was negative feedback from two powerful voices, Senator Bernie Sanders and Tom Styer. In January debate Sanders argued that ‘we could do much better.’ He listed environmental provisions as a main reason for his opposition towards the deal. In the Democratic debate Sanders said, ‘Given the fact that climate change is right now the greatest threat facing this planet, I will not vote for a trade agreement that does not incorporate very, very strong principles to significantly lower fossil fuel emissions in the world,'(Des Moines Registar). Another strong voice that has an opinion on the topic was Tom Steyer. “Combating climate change must be central to any trade deal, because the threat is serious and it demands urgent, immediate action'(Politico). Both Sanders and Steyer have similar views that they do not support this deal because it does not contribute to helping the planet.

In the State of the Union Address President Trump talked a lot about health care reform for the United States. He said his plan is to make sure everyone has afordible health care and healthcare was available to those who have pre-existing conditions. The point that he made about pre-existing conditions made a lot of people raise an eyebrow because of what his administration has done in the past.

After President Trump gave his speech Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a response to his proposal for a health care reform. On NBC News Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said, “Democrats are trying to make your health care better. Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away”(Shabad). Another Influential person who suggests Trump is lying is Nancy Pelosi. She called his Address a ‘manifesto of mistruths’ while discussing issues like medicine and pre-existing conditions. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said, “I think all of us wanted to scream after this speech, I’ve never seen such a disgraceful performance in all my years” (Diamond).

Even though there were many people that thought his speech was phony there were a number of republicans that thought he did great while ranting on health care. Republican Sen. Chuck is the one that supports a proposed bill titled HR3. This bill supports Trump’s claims that were said in his address. A reporter and writer from Vox, Dylan Scott said, “Instead, Trump has aligned himself more with Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has advanced a narrower set of reforms from his perch as the Senate Finance Committee chair…achieves pricing reform through a mix of technical changes to the rebates that drug makers pay under Medicare and Medicaid as well as provisions to cap out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors”(Scott). Mostly democrats want this bill to pass but Grassly is one of few republicans that think it should too. Passing this bill would show that Trump is really putting his neck out for the people and not just his party preference. This would satisfy his promise in his address.

Personally I think that the implementation of USMCA would be great. I do not know why anyone would be against it. The USMCA would not only help the United States Citizens with increase of jobs and american made items but it also helps out the Mexican labor laws. This agreement being taken place will make a more fair deal between Canada, The US and Mexico. I’m glad this was a major issue brought up because it pleased a majority of both Democrats and Republicans. I really wished he would have made his healthcare reform believable. Most people know about the bill H.R.3 Act that was made to lower prescription prices. It has not been passed yet because president Trump has not signed it. When he was giving his rant about health care you can hear democrats chanting “H.R.3 !”. This bill was received in the senate 12/3/2019 and is still sitting on a desk. One of my favorite things that Trump said during his address was “building the world’s most prosperous and inclusive society — one where every citizen can join in America’s unparalleled success”, I just wish he would implement more bills to allow people to be apart of our inclusive society.