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)

OMAL | 13-Feb-2017
El presente artículo analiza los posibles impactos de la firma del CETA y del TTIP sobre la agricultura y la alimentación en Europa
La Tribune | 15-Dec-2016
Les accords commerciaux entre pays ont du plomb dans l’aile, à l’exemple de l’accord transatlantique Europe-Etats-Unis (Tafta/TTIP). Mais faut-il vraiment le regretter?
Live Mint | 14-Dec-2016
If we can manage our own economies well, new trade pacts will become largely redundant.
Alternet | 16-Nov-2016
Our trade agreements—current and proposed—don’t send the right signals for the U.S. and other countries to meet their Paris commitments.
VOA | 20-Oct-2016
Protests against the Rosia Montana mine project continued for more than 15 years and resulted in the largest demonstrations in Romania since the late 1980’s.
TNI | 17-Oct-2016
Los sistemas de protección de las inversiones en el TTIP y el CETA plantean una grave e innecesaria amenaza a la democracia y el interés público.
Stop TTIP | 17-Oct-2016
Over 100 law professors from across Europe have come together to send a clear message to EU decision makers demanding the investor protection mechanisms be excluded from TTIP and CETA.
EurActiv | 14-Oct-2016
The European Commission faces an EU court battle to keep secret its lawyers’ analysis on whether the controversial investor-state-dispute (ISDS) clause in draft trade deals with the USA and Canada is illegal.
EurActiv | 14-Oct-2016
La Commission européenne devra justifier devant la justice le secret entourant son analyse de la légalité du système de règlement des différends entre investisseurs et États du TTIP et du CETA.
CEO | 4-Oct-2016
Business lobby groups are pushing hard for investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and similar trade deals.