TUC statement on European Parliament TTIP resolution

The European Parliament will vote soon on a resolution on the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP).  The TUC believes this is a crucial opportunity for MEPs to hold the European Commission to account and make clear that they must negotiate trade deals in the public interest, not for private profit. TTIP poses significant threats to democratic decision-making, public services, jobs and wages, and to protections for working people, consumers and the environment.

The TUC urges MEPs to support a resolution on TTIP which demands that the European Commission:

·    defend workers’ rights: the deal must require countries to respect the fundamental human rights set out in the eight core conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO);

·    protect public services: TTIP must clearly set out those services it plans to open up to competition rather than list the few that will be excluded. Only such a ‘positive list’ approach can protect public services and the right for democratically-elected governments to decide the boundary between the public and private sector, now and in the future;

·    remove Investor-State Dispute Settlement and special courts for foreign investors: the TUC is strongly opposed to ISDS. We believe that it is unacceptable in principle for foreign investors to have privileged access to a separate dispute resolution system from everyone else, and we believe that existing court systems in Europe and the USA are perfectly adequate;

·    promote good jobs and decent wages: we want to level up wages and conditions, and increase employment, rather than join a race to the bottom where even if goods get cheaper, people can’t afford them. Where it can be identified that people will lose out, they need compensatory measures; and

·    maintain regulatory protections for workers, consumers and the environment:  regulatory co-operation should respect the principles of democratic scrutiny and control, equal engagement of all stakeholders and transparency. It should not lead to a downward harmonisation of existing regulations or recognition of lower standards as equivalent. And the fundamental right of governments to regulate in the public interest must not be undermined.

The TUC’s annual Congress last September adopted a comprehensive position on TTIP and other trade deals.