Transatlantic troubles

An edited version of this article was published in bath impact newspaper in November 2013.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), is a proposition that is breath-taking in its economic ambition and scale. TTIP champions the idea of a free trade area between the EU and USA, the regions that produce nearly half the global GDP and house more than 800 million residents.

Not content with merely abolishing tariffs and creating the largest free trade area in world history, TTIP also seeks to cut down bureaucratic red tape between both economies, curtail subsidies to state-owned businesses and perhaps most controversially, modify laws relating to intellectual property and copyright.

At first glance, the benefits of such a monumental partnership seem correspondingly colossal: the Centre for Economic Policy Research in London forecasts a potential yearly gain of 119 Billion Euros to the European economy and of $100 billion to the American economy, whilst the European Commission expects roughly 400,000 jobs to be created as a result of the deal.

Yet, TTIP has encountered widespread anger and suspicion for the secretive, non-democratic nature in which talks regarding the deal are being conducted. Detractors have accused TTIP of being little more than an excuse to pander to the whims of rapacious corporates at the cost of individual rights and liberty. Critics of the TTIP also believe that the resultant economic benefits will mainly be in favour of large companies, and that the social, environmental and political disadvantages will far outweigh the paltry predicted economic gain of 545 euros a year to the average European citizen.

In particular, there has been harsh criticism from internet freedom groups and other public interest activists over the opaque nature of negotiations regarding an agreement as significant as TTIP. There have been calls from several quarters for talks to be conducted in the public eye, in the European Parliament and in the American Congress, instead of behind closed doors. Citizens are chagrined that they are not privy to decision-making that will significantly alter their lives and (should the more punitive copyright laws be passed) even limit their freedom of expression.

Dean Baker, head of the American Centre for Economic and Policy Research, warns that TTIP could allow powerful industry voices to dictate their own terms by defining anything that impedes their profitability as a ‘trade barrier’ that need to be removed. He cites wide-ranging examples of potentially adverse effects that TTIP could have, from allowing genetically-modified foods to be imported and sold within the EU to tightening copyright laws and impeding the flow of information on the internet, to granting the pharmaceutical industry longer patents and tighter control of medical prices.

In a similar vein, author and political activist George Monbiot warns that TTIP could facilitate a shift in power away from citizens and democratic government towards corporate and industry forces. Calling TTIP ‘an assault on democracy’, Monbiot paints a disturbing picture of the dystopian future that it could bring about. He cautions that the investor-state dispute settlement (a mechanism that allows businesses to sue foreign countries for breach in trade agreements) could be exploited by unethical companies to sue European governments for prioritizing citizen welfare over corporate profit.

However, those who are in favour the TTIP have called these voices unnecessarily alarmist. They believe that the creation of the transatlantic free-trade area would liberalize an enormous portion of the global economy, increase competitiveness, incentivise improvement in global standards and accrue economic benefits for everybody concerned.

And so the debate rages on amongst the public: is the the TTIP is an economic catalyst, a tool of capitalistic oppression, or a combination of both?

Latest updates:

Cameron addresses ‘myths’ about TTIP and NHS privatisation Huffington Post, September 2014

#NotoTTIP protests trend in Europe RT news, October 2014