European Documents Show US is Aggressively trying to Gut the EU Precautionary Principle to Pass TTIP

[Baobab]

http://international.sueddeutsche.de/post/143690739565/ttippapiere

TTIP Documents Revealed

By Alexander Hagelüken and Alexander Mühlauer
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The United States government is putting more intense and significantly more far-reaching pressure on the European Union than previously thought during the ongoing negotiations to reach an accord on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). This has become evident from copies of confidential negotiation documents that have been made available to Süddeutsche Zeitung and the German radio and television stations WDR and NDR. The material, consisting of 240 pages, was provided by Greenpeace and will be published this coming Monday. Several people familiar with the negotiations confirm that the documents provided are current.

According to the documents, Washington is threatening to prevent the easing of exports for the European car industry in order to force Europe to buy more U.S. agricultural products. The U.S. government concurrently has criticized the fundamental prevention principal of the EU Consumer Centre which protects 500 million Europeans from consuming genetically modified food and hormone-treated meat. The documents further reveal the fact that the U.S. has blocked the urgent European call to replace the controversial private arbitration tribunals, responsible for corporative lawsuits, with a public State model; instead, Washington has made a suggestion on the matter that had hitherto not been disclosed to the public.

The publication of these TTIP documents provides citizens with an unfiltered insight into the negotiations between the U.S. and Europe. Ever since the start of negotiations three years ago, the public could only try to guess what both sides were discussing, which has prompted millions of people to take to the streets in protest of TTIP. While the EU is making its suggestions publicly available, the U.S. insists on keeping their stances on issues secret. Washington utilizes this tactic to ensure a larger scope for negotiations. The disclosure of these 16 TTIP negotiation papers finally offers a fuller transparency for the 800 million people spread over two continents whose lives will be affected by the biggest bilateral trade agreement in history.
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U.S. legislation is fundamentally different than that of the EU. In the EU, for example, the use of 1,308 various chemicals in cosmetics is prohibited in light of suspicions that they may be carcinogenic. The responsible U.S. authority on the other hand, according to consumer protection organizations, prohibits no more than exactly 11 substances.

See also http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/01/leaked-ttip-documents-cast-doubt-on-eu-us-trade-deal

Thank you to

[840high]

1. kick

[Populist_Prole]

2. Aaand another kick

Corporatists ae going above and beyond; and yet: Not realizing they've tipped their mitts.

[Betty Karlson]

3. Kick - and kicking the TTIP to pulp I hope.

FUCK the corporate takeover.

[Bad Dog]

4. There's two sticking points.

Food additives, (which includes GM crops,) and Healthcare. Those two things are really important and America can bully as much as it likes, but compromising on either point would be electoral suicide.

[Baobab]

5. Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals cause 150 billion euros/year illnesses

The deals block regulation and then cancel out democracy for good. That's their goal. Elected Leaders become ceremonial puppets of the various controlling industries.

This is already happening, as we see here. But Europe still is partly free. These deals attempt to enslave them as we have been.

If there is even a shred of decency left in Americans we should speak out against these contracts on democracy which the fake obama/clinton/undemocratic machine hopes to sneak past us quietly.

[Bad Dog]

6. You're right.

We all run the risk of being ruled by a state free wealthy oligarchy for whom national governments are becoming an irrelevance.

[Bad Dog]

7. This is something that TTIP could threaten.

Europe's highest court upheld a law that will standardise packaging and ban the advertising of e-cigarettes.

The Court of Justice found the laws "did not go beyond the limits of what is appropriate and necessary".

Under the new rules health warnings will have to cover 65% of the front and back of cigarette packaging.

The rules are due to take effect from 20 May, but the new packets will not be on sale until stocks of existing cartons have been cleared over the next year.


Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco (BAT) challenged the proposed legislation.

They argued that the European Union was overstepping its authority to direct laws in member states.

Reacting to the court's findings a BAT spokesperson said: "We stand by our belief that the Tobacco Products Directive is a clear example of the EU overstepping the limits of its authority. The reality is that many elements of the directive are disproportionate, distort competition, and fail to respect the autonomy of the Member States."
Individual EU states are also working on new packaging rules.

In the UK, the government wants to introduce tobacco packs with plain packaging - a move which is also being challenged by big tobacco companies.

The law was supposed to come into effect later this month, but that could be delayed as on 18 May the High Court is due to rule on the legal challenge to the legislation from the tobacco industry.

"What is clear from the [EU] directive and the judgment is that measures that go beyond the requirements of the directive, such as plain packaging, must still comply with the wider principles of EU and international law." said the BAT spokesperson.

"Whether plain packaging meets these requirements is currently the subject of ongoing litigation before the English Courts and the WTO [World Trade Organization].

It is likely that the losing party would launch an appeal over the High Court's decision.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36200778

[bemildred]

8. That's how they did it here. nt

[Baobab]

9. BEMILDRED - TTIP HAS NOT PASSED HERE YET, NEITHER HAS TPP

nt

[bemildred]

10. You think you know what I am talking about, but you don't. nt

[Baobab]

11. Blogs delete things about the other non TPP FTAs to hide the fact that they exist.

Did you know that?

[bemildred]

12. I'm not going to talk to you until you listen to what I say. nt