Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Of bees, the NHS and Transatlantic Trade Agreement
Hard won rights and regulations, such as labour rights, food standards, GMOs, toxic chemicals, on-line privacy laws and banking safeguards, are under threat. Discussions are being held in secret, between the EU and the USA, with the aim of removing any that are seen as a barrier to making profits.
The TTIP agreement (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) will give trans-national corporations greater power to sue national governments for any loss of profits resulting from democratic decisions, such as new laws protecting the environment.
TTIP will also open up public services, such as education and the NHS, for privatisation and will make it impossible to take them back into public ownership in the future.
For more information see War on Want- https://dub118.mail.live.com/mail/ViewOfficePreview.aspx?messageid=...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Bornat on
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This sounds as if it's very distant to us, but it's not. If we want to protect our food, working conditions, rights and environment we have to resist what is being carried out in away from public view so that US multinationals don't change the rules in the name of 'free trade'.
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Permalink Reply by B on
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Thanks for your post. I can't believe how little this is being discussed in the media. This is something that will affect everyone, it's being decided by unelected representative in secret.
See link for war on want http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/trade-justice/ttip
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The Haringey '38 Degrees' group have started a campaign about the TTIP and will be outside Harringay Green Lanes station tomorrow from 11am for a couple of hours to provide more info. There are several online petitions people can sign and you could write to MPs as well.
On the question of the TTIP and bees, see http://action.sumofus.org/a/stop-ttip/3/2/ where there is one petition you can sign.
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Our politicians of all parties(except Green) have been almost silent on the issue except to say its not a threat. This is one of the reasons there has been a turn to UKIP. The EU should have been about raising standards of health and social benefits across Europe and establishing benchmarks for health and safety and food standards. Instead it has been captured by corporate interests as has Washington and the EU are dancing to their tune.
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As you say Joanna, it sounds very distant from us but it can really affect all of us. The aim of TTIP is to get rid of anything that is a barrier to making a profit, so deregulation across the board is envisaged.
TTIP will encourage a levelling down of wages, labour regulations, and trade union rights as people working in the UK and EU will be competing against people working in the US where labour standards and trade union rights are virtually non-existant. 50% of states in the US have signed a "right to work" framework allowing businesses to undercut workers pay and pension. This will be a race to the bottom as business tries to find the cheapest production area, in its quest to increase profits at the expense of working people in Europe and US.
As if that isn't enough, investors will get protection against future improvements to wages or working conditions. At the moment our lovely rubbish collectors Veolia is suing Egypt because its profit margins were affected by Egypt's National Wage Council decision to keep wages in line with inflation. Expect much more of the same here if TTIP goes ahead.
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Sorry can't get this to link, in reply to Anne.
As well as the chemical industry suing the EU on its two year moratorium of neonicotinoid pesticide implicated in bee decline, Canada has been forced to revoke its ban on a fuel additive MMT after threat from US firm Ethyl. US tobacco giant Philip Morris is suing the Australian government for billions over its decision to use plain packaging. There are many more where mega companies are challenging democratic decisions made by individual governments however under TTIP these corporations will be given extra powers that will make it much easier for them to do this.
Environmental policy in the EU is based on the precautionary principle, it requires industry to prove that a chemical is safe before it can be certified for commercial use, alarmingly in the USA it is up to the 'public regulator' to prove that a chemical is safe or unsafe, and not for industry to do this. TTIP is about removing barriers to making profits and 'harmonising' EU regulations to the lower standards of the USA. This could be disastrous for the environment.
Why is there so little about this in the papers, TV or from politicians?
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I'm also a member of '38 degrees Haringey' (a non-party campaigning group*) and have known about the TTIP since I heard John Hilary speak on 23rd April**. I am still shocked that not only are these multi-national giants suing the EU and Canada for attempting to create a healthier environment for all of us, but that this Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership will make it easier for businesses to undermine the safeguards in our society by placing them above the laws of countries, and giving them a free hand to increase their large profits! All the political parties, with the exception of the Greens, have been remarkably silent about this, as are the media. This suggests to me that the TTIP is already in control, although I don't know. It seems urgent that we campaign to stop this going further before it is too late. Susan
* for information on 38 degrees contact rodwells1@hotmail.co.uk
** hear John Hilary speak on the above at Friends House, Euston Road (opposite Euston Station) this Monday, 19th May, at 7 pm.
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Aha! You' ve answered a bit of a mystery for me. I'm in Paris and walked into a demonstration in Place de la Republique yesterday. A lot of the demonstrators had placards opposing the TTIP and I had no idea what it meant.
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In reply to Michael.
I'm glad people are demonstrating against it, I really couldn't see French Trade Unionists accepting such a fundamental attack on their labour and social rights.
It really needs publicising here as most people are unaware that these talks are in an advanced stage having had four rounds of negotiations.
Our MPs, and the parliamentary members of other EU governments, are not party to the TTIP talks. The negotiating mandate is still classified as a secret document. Even members of the European Parliament, which plays an important role in Europe´s trade relations, are only allowed limited access to negotiating texts.
However all three main UK parties are in favour of TTIP. The Tories would like to see it approved before the next general election as the fate of the NHS would be sealed. Unfortunately Labour backs TTIP. The only opposition that I can see within Europe to TTIP is the Greens, so something to think about when voting for MEPs this week.
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