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)

IBT | 17-Oct-2014
The European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht has warned that there will be no free trade agreement between the EU and US without the controversial investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clause.
Washington Post | 6-Oct-2014
The Obama administration’s insistence on ISDS may please Wall Street, but it threatens to undermine some of the president’s landmark achievements in curbing pollution and fighting global warming.
The Conversation | 6-Oct-2014
While it would be wrong to say that the TTIP will lead to the wholesale privatisation of public services, it would potentially constrain governments’ ability to reverse past policy decisions to open up public services to competition as this would become a treaty-based commitment.
Public Citizen | 2-Oct-2014
The Obama administration’s precarious justifications for the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) regime may determine the fate of the transatlantic free trade agreement, said Public Citizen.
dpa | 2-Oct-2014
Groups opposed to a clause of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership that they say is overly favorable to investors took their complaints to negotiators Wednesday outside Washington.
Open Democracy | 29-Sep-2014
Europeans are in uproar at chaotic attempts by the EU presidency to rush through ’secret courts’ for investors to sue governments who try to protect their citizens and public services.
Occupy London TV | 28-Sep-2014
Occupy Democracy is organising a time limited occupation from the 17th - 26th October to debate the flaws in the UK’s democracy, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Eurasia Review | 23-Sep-2014
This study considers the likely regulatory impact of the proposed EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in three key policy areas: investor protection, public services and food safety.
ABC | 14-Sep-2014
A common provision allowing foreign investors to sue host governments has become a ticking time bomb inside trade agreements. Some countries are now refusing to agree to the provision and are questioning its legal legitimacy. Jess Hill investigates.
EarthMedia | 10-Sep-2014
Please find below a draft letter to heads of state or trade ministers of EU Member States. It can be sent ahead of the Sept .12 meeting of the EU Trade Policy Committee where Member States have the *final* opportunity to comment on the CETA text.