Environmental advocates of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), ClientEarth, and 109 other civil society organizations fear that the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement will favor industry over environment and public health. They expressed their strong opposition to the inclusion of any terms in the TTTIP agreement that implicate the regulation of chemicals. In their opinion industry and its government allies, following years of unsuccessful efforts to block the development of stronger EU laws for toxic chemicals, have now turned to TTIP as a tool to slow, stop, or reverse the implementation of these stronger laws.
In contrast, the organizations see the regulatory differences between the EU and United States that include stronger protections for people and the environment, targeted by TTIP as non-tariff “barriers” to trade, not per se as problems. They don’t need to be swept away via trade policy – even if they pose inconveniences and some costs to the chemical industry. In fact, they see these regulatory differences as drivers of innovation, creating safer products, healthier workplaces, and a cleaner environment.
- Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Washington, D.C., USA
- Letter by 111 Organizations demanding exclusion of chemicals (PDF), July 10, 2014.
