TTIP of the Iceberg: Consumer Concerns Could Sink the US-EU Trade Agreement

[marmar]

TTIP of the Iceberg: Consumer Concerns Could Sink the US-EU Trade Agreement

Wednesday, 17 February 2016 00:00
By Mary Bottari, PR Watch | News Analysis



.....(snip).....

With all the challenges facing humanity, from catastrophic climate change, to mysterious bee colony collapse, to the Zika virus, one would think that an old-fashioned trade agreement aimed primarily at stifling environmental, consumer, and public health regulations should be a low priority.

But tell that to the hundreds of officials who will be convening with some urgency in Brussels next week to pound out the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership or TTIP - a trade pact between the US and the European Union (EU) - before a new US president is elected.

Although negotiators tout the TTIP as the vanguard of a "new generation" of trade agreements with the potential to raise standards and advance sustainable development, in reality it is built upon the clunky, old trade rules demanded by industry to ensure just the opposite will occur.

In particular, proposals for "regulatory cooperation" and the inclusion of an "investor-to-state" dispute resolution system have generated strong opposition from consumer and environmental groups, who see them as a threat to a wide range of regulatory policies, including those needed to address the world’s most pressing problems.

"Regulatory Cooperation" Hands Industry a Target List

Consumer concerns with the TTIP was the topic of recent conference in Brussels sponsored by the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, representing large and small consumer groups on both sides of the Atlantic. ...............(more)

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/34863-ttip-of-the-iceberg-consumer-concerns-could-sink-the-us-eu-trade-agreement

[whathehell]

1. I can only hope it does -- Like the TPP, it's a disaster!

[djean111]

2. Oh, gee, I thought it was just a few Americans who are against this.......

these things reek. Counting down to the "don't you care about poor Vietnamese farmers?" bullshit, often in the same sentence with "of course you Americans should lose your jobs!" - what is intended is global lowering of wages and standards. Nothing less.
Just remember who brought this to us. And who shilled for it.

[Populist_Prole]

3. +1. You called it

Every word.