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TTIP

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a proposed mega trade deal that was negotiated between the European Union and the United States.

The original mandate to the European Commission stated: “the Agreement will include an appropriate dispute settlement mechanism”.

The investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism in TTIP has drawn fierce criticism from civil society groups from both sides of the Atlantic. They claimed in December 2013, in a letter to the European Commission and the Office of the United States Trade Representative that ISDS was “a one-way street by which corporations can challenge government policies, but neither governments nor individuals are granted any comparable rights to hold corporations accountable”.

In 2014, the European Commission launched a public consultation about the inclusion of ISDS in TTIP. The result was very clear: 97% of the 150,000 participants said no to ISDS.

The European Commission put forward in 2015 a proposal for an alternative mechanism, named investment court system, a move it said would make ISDS more transparent and allow states to appeal against multinationals’ challenges. But groups portrayed the suggested changes as putting “lipstick on a pig”, as they are merely cosmetic changes, and would still allow corporations to sue governments in parallel court settings.

Following strong public outcry and the election of Trump in the US, talks on a comprehensive agreement were put on hold in 2017.

Photo: Garry Knight / CC0 1.0

(March 2020)

Juncker states his opposition to fracking
ENDS Europe | 10-Jul-2014
Asked about the trade deal the Commission is currently negotiating with the US, which campaigners fear will allow private companies to challenge the EU’s environmental rules, Mr Juncker stressed that the normal, publicly accountable, court system should be used instead of private courts or arbitration panels.
energy , EU , GMOs , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Comment l’industrie du tabac reprend l’offensive grâce aux traités de libre-échange
Basta ! | 10-Jul-2014
Les Etats membres de l’Union européenne pourront-ils continuer à développer leurs politiques de santé publique, notamment en matière de lutte anti-tabac ? Le Traité transatlantique, actuellement négocié avec les Etats Unis, inquiète.
health , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
TTIP: debunking the business propaganda over investor rights
CEO | 3-Jul-2014
The EU Commission’s plan to enshrine sweeping rights for foreign investors in the EU-US trade deal continues to draw heavy criticism. In response, industry lobby groups, law firms, and arbitrators have launched a tooth and nail defence of the business power grab. See through their propaganda with Corporate Europe Observatory’s guide to investment arbitration.
actions | resistance , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Commission closes TTIP consultation — But is it listening?
ETUC | 1-Jul-2014
Bernadette Ségol the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation says trade unionists are “particularly concerned at statements from DG Trade implying that the consultation is about a reform of the ISDS system and is not open to a decisive rejection.”
actions | resistance , investor-state disputes | ISDS , labour | workers’ rights , TTIP
Traité US-UE: les tribunaux arbitraux permettront-ils aux multinationales de piller les États?
JOL Press | 30-Jun-2014
Un mécanisme de « règlement des différends entre investisseur et Etat » est devenu un instrument aux mains des multinationales pour contester les politiques publiques jugées contraires à leurs intérêts et apparaît dans le traité de libre-échange entre Washington et Bruxelles. Vers quoi s’achemine-t-on ?
investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Business v state investment disputes in EU spotlight
BBC | 12-Jun-2014
Should foreign businesses have the right to take a sovereign state to arbitration to seek compensation for a change in the law or government policy? And if so, in exactly what circumstances?
investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Investor-to-state dispute settlement is a rigged system
FFII | 28-May-2014
ISDS gives the US an unfair advantage — we can not expect EU companies to win ISDS cases against the US.
investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
Conversaciones sobre estrategia: Confrontando los “súper derechos corporativos” en el TTIP
No al TTIP | 26-May-2014
La decisión de la Comisión Europea de llevar a Consulta la inclusión del mecanismo de Solución de Controversias Inversionista-Estado en el capítulo de Inversión del Tratado Transatlántico de Comercio e Inversiones (TTIP), es claramente el resultado de la creciente preocupación y presión de las organizaciones sociales europeas y de la ciudadanía en general.
corporate interests , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
’TTIP serves the major corporations’
DW | 23-May-2014
The TTIP trade agreement between the US and the EU is continuing to cause a major row in Europe. Economist Christoph Scherrer tells DW that the corporations’ right to file lawsuits will be particularly problematic.
corporate interests , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP
[ETUC] Canada-EU trade deal: Trojan horse for contested ISDS?
ETUC | 7-May-2014
The EU-Canada trade agreement – which may be concluded on May 8 at the Foreign Affairs Council – should not be used as a ‘Trojan horse’ to smuggle in a controversial Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) warned the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
actions | resistance , Canada , EU , investor-state disputes | ISDS , TTIP