In July 2015, the European Parliament demanded the European Commission not to affect the implementation of the EU chemicals legislation REACH through the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and not to negotiate with the US on issues “such as REACH and its implementation” in order to protect Europes stronger regulations of toxic chemicals relative to the US. The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) sees in the most recent proposals a continued threatment of the implementation of REACH, the EU flagship chemical regulation, and other European laws for chemicals, including the implementation of long overdue criteria to regulate endocrine disrupting chemicals, under TTIP.
“The latest TTIP proposals would allow ‘regulatory cooperation’ to affect the implementation of EU chemical laws,” says Baskut Tuncak, Senior Attorney, CIEL. “This is a serious threat to EU chemical laws and policies as the US continues to lobby against more protective EU standards.”
“Regulatory cooperation in TTIP mimics the European Commission’s controversial agenda for lean EU regulations, which it calls Better Regulation,” adds Laurens Ankersmit, EU Trade & Environment Lawyer with ClientEarth. “TTIP would therefore cast its controversial elements in stone, putting yet another break on regulators’ ability to manage hazardous chemicals.”
The next rounds of TTIP negotiations are planned for April and July.
- Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Brussels, Belgium
