Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/396532
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2014 6 News A high-ranking US government offi- cial this week quashed fears that the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks would end up lowering social and environmental standards cur- rently in place in the EU. Echoing United States President Barack Obama, Julieta Valls Noyes – Deputy Assistant Secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Euro- pean and Eurasian Affairs – called on detractors to wait until the deal is concluded before engaging in "spec- ulations". But despite her assurances, the secretive nature of the TTIP talks between the European Commission and the US has enraged critics. And this week, they scored an important victory following the EU Council's decision to publish the EU negotiat- ing directives for the on-going nego- tiations. TTIP wants to reduce regulatory barriers to trade for big business. Critics feared that the deal would spell disaster in areas such as food safety law, environmental legislation, banking regulations and the sover- eign powers of individual states. But during a round-table discus- sion held by the United States em- bassy on Thursday, Noyes claimed such fears are "absolutely false". "President Obama has zero interest in eliminating consumer, environ- ment and labour rights and he has declared that he would not sign the deal if consumer safety or environ- mental standards are relaxed," she said. Describing the deal as a "21st cen- tury trade agreement", Noyes said that Malta and the EU would benefit from unprecedented trade opportu- nities. "The deal will act as a catalyst for trade liberalisation," she stressed, adding that TTIP will especially ben- efit SMEs by opening up an 800 mil- lion strong market and "facilitate" exports by making trade "easier, faster and more simple." Critics say that the TTIP's biggest threat is the introduction of Investor- State Dispute Settlements (ISDS), al- lowing companies to sue countries if government policies and court deci- sions cause a loss of profits. This could lead to unelected mul- tinationals dictating the policies of democratically elected governments and overturning laws and regula- tions which protect consumers and the environment. However, while failing to categori- cally deny such accusations, Noyes played them down by insisting that "the deal only aims at harmonising standards and regulations". While insisting that the deal would be vetted and approved by the Euro- pean Parliament and the US Senate, she added "it's difficult to say what the deal will include before it is con- cluded." Despite claims by US and EU of- ficials that the TTIP process has involved civil society, detractors say that the agenda has been set by big multinationals, with documents obtained through a freedom of in- formation request by the Corporate Europe Observatory showing that over 93% of preparatory meetings in Brussels were held with business lobbyists while industry pressure groups made up 85% of seats in simi- lar meetings in Washington. Despite Noyes' optimism, critics in Malta and abroad view the ongo- ing negotiations with a healthy dose of scepticism and maintain that the deal will wreak havoc in the social and environmental spheres. Various European academics and NGOs view the TTIP process as an attempt to impose an Americanized 'one-size fits all' neo-liberal model on Europe to the detriment of social, environmental and economic stand- ards and rights. Sociologist and Zminijietna activist Michael Briguglio said that from the information available, the harmoni- sation, liberalisation and privatisa- tion of various sectors will mean that trade principles will come before so- cial and environmental standards. "This promises to have a negative effect on workers' rights, environ- mental protection, food safety, uni- versally accessible public services and standards which we are used to in the EU and in Malta." He told MaltaToday that "in the name of so-called 'free trade', mul- tinational corporations will have the power to take governments to arbi- tration tribunals, bypassing national and European courts, and henceforth bypassing the democratic process." Asked what is the alternative to the neo-liberal agreement, Briguglio said "before proceeding, the TTIP should be subjected to a comprehen- sive impact assessment. It should be subject to democratic discussion in the European and national parlia- ments and should be subject to a ref- erendum. Any trade deal involving the EU should not take place at the detriment of national and European democratic processes, and should not result in the lowering of regula- tory standards in the social and envi- ronmental fields." Some of the TTIP's staunchest critics have been the Greens on both sides of the Atlantic and in com- ments to MaltaToday, Alternattiva Demokratika chairperson Arnold Cassola said "we Greens are fighting not to have our high environmental and health standards lowered by this treaty". Although the EU has now made its mandate public, Cassola said that "if the EU is truly committed to trans- parency on TTIP, the Commission must now grant access to the nego- tiating documents since the devil is in the detail and it is only by scruti- nising the detail in these negotiating documents that those not directly involved in the negotiations can know where these devils lie." He added that if an agreement were to be reached on the current text, private companies would have the power to ask for arbitration by ex- perts in the sector over disputes with national governments. "We all know what power indus- trial lobbies have to influence certain experts. For example, the tobacco industry is already asking the Aus- tralian government for hundreds of millions in compensation because the Australian government wants to safeguard the health of tobacco smokers by indicating the risks." Moreover, the Green Party chair- person said, EU member states could be obliged to apply the US minimum "which means allowing the bleaching of chicken in chlorine before becom- ing a chicken burger, the injection of antibiotics in bovines before becom- ing a hamburger and airline flights operating all night, not allowing a rest period for residents during the night." The criticism resonated in a news conference organised by the Front Against TTIP (Malta) who joined a global call of action "against the pro- posed TTIP, as it threatens workers' rights, environmental protection, consumer rights and public serv- ices." The press conference held yester- day was originally planned to take place at Dar l-Ewropa, the European Commission's representation in Val- letta, however the coalition of civil society organisations was prohibited from holding a public dialogue at the premises. "We are baffled that Europe House, which has hosted a wide range of events related to EU policy, is pro- hibiting a civil society coalition from discussing the EU's proposed trade and investment partnership with the USA," they said. Should you be worried about TTIP? What's at stake? Public services Critics claim public services in Europe like health would be vulnerable to attempts by private healthcare providers, to privatise services. Education and water services could also fall prey to US companies, but both EU and US officials claimed that public services will be kept out of the treaty. Agriculture and GMOs US rules on food are less stricter than the EU's: 70% of all processed foods sold in US supermarkets containing genetically modified ingredients. By contrast, the EU allows virtually no GM foods. The TTIP is believed will harmonise these rules. Environmental safety In Europe, companies must prove that products are safe before putting them on the market while in the US substances can be used until proven unsafe. The EU currently bans 1,200 substances from use in cosmetics, the US just 12. Public funds Eliminating customs tariffs under TTIP would cost the EU budget €2.6 billion a year. Reduction of trade between EU member states TTIP will reduce trade between EU countries by up to 30% as EU countries' exports won't be able to compete with increased levels of cheap imports from the US. Democracy The investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism could lead to governments abstaining from rules that go against multinationals' interests, for fear of being sued. There are around 500 similar cases of businesses versus nations going on around the world at the moment and they are all taking place before 'arbitration tribunals'. JURGEN BALZAN met United States official Julieta Valls Noyes to ask whether the much-maligned and secretive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks were a leap in the dark for EU member states and their public services