On Sunday, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung claimed that 240 pages of text from the secret transatlantic trade deal (TTIP) obtained by Greenpeace show the US to be blackmailing the EU to force through the trade deal, despite European objections
Specifically, the United States threatened to block European car exports, in order to force the European Union to buy genetically engineered fruits and vegetables from the US – a move that will compromise consumer health and negatively affect Europe’s agricultural industry.
Greenpeace announced that it would release the smuggled text of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on Monday, undermining unusual efforts by the EU and US to keep the details secret.
The authenticity of the documents has been confirmed by German DPA news agency sources. The documents demonstrate that the White House sought to pressure the EU to replace its precautionary consumer safety principle with the US approach of permitting food products to be sold until risks are proven.
On Friday in New York, the lead US and EU negotiators – US Trade Representative Daniel Mullaney and the European Commission’s Ignacio Garcia Bercera – said they planned to reach a deal before Obama leaves office in January apparently out of awareness that free trade arrangements have become politically toxic.
Will the Obama administration’s lasting legacy be one of advancing a worldwide corporatist deregulatory framework against the will of the voting public in the United States and worldwide, by blackmailing allies into acquiescence? That appears to be the plan.
Greenpeace Netherlands releases TTIP documents
“These documents make clear the scale and scope of the trade citizens of the United States and the European Union are being asked to make in pursuit of corporate profits. It is time for the negotiations to stop, and the debate to begin.
Should we be able to act when we have reasonable grounds to believe our health and wellbeing is at risk, or must we wait until the damage is done?
Were our governments serious in Paris when they said they would do what was necessary to protect the planet, and keep climate change under 1.5 degrees?
Environmental protection should not be seen as a barrier to trade, but as a safeguard for our health, and the health of future generations.
We call on citizens, civil society, politicians and businesses to engage in this debate openly and without fear. We call on the negotiators to release the latest, complete text to facilitate that discussion, and we ask that the negotiations be stopped until these questions, and many more have been answered. Until we can fully engage in a debate about the standards we and our planet need and want” – Sylvia Borren, Executive Director Greenpeace Netherlands.
Source: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/press/releases/2016/Greenpeace-Netherlands-releases-TTIP-documents/
Categories: Business, European Union
