TTIP Negotiations Continue in Private

22 Apr 2015 --- The debate over the impending Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) continues to rage on as negotiators enter the 9th round of talks this week.

The deal, which hopes to give the EU and US better trade links by a series of steps to make trade easier, is heavily opposed by many on both sides of the Atlantic. Key worries for the food industry are that the stringent EU food safety rules will be relaxed, and that ingredients (GM and preservatives) used in the US but banned in the EU will make their way on to European supermarket shelves.

Consumer groups are also campaigning for a more transparent deal. Currently, the talks are held in private, but the EU publishes many of the manuscripts. The US has banned all publication of talks.

Monique Goyens, Director General of The European Consumer Organisation BEUC, said: “More transparency in the TTIP negotiations is not a mere mantra, void of meaning. It is the deal’s ‘make or break’ element. Do the officials want TTIP to fail for the wrong reasons? We urgently call the US to follow the European Commission’s example and publish its negotiating texts. It is also of vital importance that the two sides commit to publishing consolidated texts on an ongoing basis. Allowing civil society’s engagement in the process can only add value to the talks.”

The 9th round of TTIP negotiations take place in New York this week, but remain dogged by the lack of transparency with regard to several aspects of the discussions including that negotiations have produced advanced drafts of ‘consolidated texts’ on sectors such as food safety. Yet civil society experts have been precluded from access to these texts, thereby blocking constructive, expert contributions or the chance to flag potentially harmful provisions. This lack of transparency creates skepticism over the deal.

The European Ombudsman initiated an inquiry on the matter and has made a series of recommendations to the European Commission, including: ‘’The Commission should also inform the US of the need to justify any request by them not to disclose a given document. The Commission needs to be convinced by this reasoning.’’ BEUC questions whether the European Commission has been convinced by the US’ reasoning to maintain its proposals classified while the Commission has already published its own.

Consumer organisations on both sides of the Atlantic have repeatedly urged the US Trade Representative Michael Froman to release trade talks documents. While Commissioner Malmström has publicly acknowledged that “consolidated” documents would enhance transparency, Mr Froman continues to shun our call for more transparency.

The 9th round of negotiations takes place at the same time while the decision to adopt the Fast Track/Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in the US is imminent. Under Fast Track, Congress’ involvement is restricted to an up or down vote on the final bill with no amendments allowed. Fast Track is largely opposed by civil society organisations in the US, including members of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), as it delegates Congress’ trade authority (power to negotiate trade agreements, draft implementing legislation to change U.S. law, and sign agreements into international law) to the US administration.

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