More on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

An exciting new initiative has been launched by a group of businesses who know that the secretly negotiated EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will threaten them and risk job losses in the UK. It is called Business Against TTIP – and they want other businesses to join them.

The initiative was launched by Entrepreneur of the Year Titus Sharpe who says that TTIP: “is a sure-fire way to threaten our vibrant business sector”.  TTIP will force UK businesses into unfair competition with US firms with lower standards and lower costs. At least 680,000 jobs will be lost across Europe. It will threaten our safety and labour standards and give US companies a special private justice system where they can challenge any new laws affecting their profits.

Thousands of firms have already signed up to parallel anti-TTIP websites in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

War on Want supports this initiative and has released a report this week called ‘’Rough Trade: The threat of TTIP to small businesses in the UK” showing how TTIP offers small and medium sized businesses nothing, but thousands could fold if US firms are allowed into our markets without having to abide by EU rules.

Mark Dearn is the Trade Campaigner for War on Want.

War on Want fights against the root causes of poverty and human rights violations, as part of the worldwide movement for global justice.

TTIP is similar to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Voice for Arran can report that Canadian mining company Pacific Rim, now bought by the Australian conglomerate Oceana Gold, is suing El Salvador for more than $300 million for denying permits to dig. Brushing aside concerns that the mining would poison the Lempa River, the country’s primary source of drinking water, Pacific Rim claims that the government is discriminating against it and is obliged under the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) to protect its investments and potential future profits from mining.

Meanwhile the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a mega-free trade agreement between the U.S. and 11 countries in Asia and the Americas, could come before Congress this year. This agreement would give thousands of corporations in partner countries the right to sue the U.S. government for passing laws to secure climate stability and protect our children’s futures.