Two big secret trade agreements that the US has been negotiating appear to be failing. One is with Europe (the TTIP) and one with pacific partners (TPP) They were being negotiated primarily by large corporate interests. From the Guardian: The main driving forces behind TTIP have been multinational
corporations and business lobby groups, who stand to gain from
harmonised regulations. With information about the secret negotiations
having to be chiselled out by groups hostile to TTIP, voters have drawn
the obvious conclusion: the aim of the talks is to enrich big business even if it means playing fast and loose with environmental and health standards.
This is the wave that Donald Trump has been riding.
I was going to make a comment about the dangers of these types of agreements leading to a "race to the bottom," but I think this quote from the article sums up my thoughts nicely.
ReplyDelete"These leaked documents give us an unparalleled look at the scope of US demands to lower or circumvent EU protections for environment and public health as part of TTIP. The EU position is very bad, and the US position is terrible. The prospect of a TTIP compromising within that range is an awful one. The way is being cleared for a race to the bottom in environmental, consumer protection and public health standards."