TTIP, Europe’s green light for new negotiations. Everything must change so that nothing changes, under the ‘government of change,’ aka the Leopard. And the much coveted ‘sovereignty of the peoples,’ the rights and duties stipulated in our Constitutional Charters will give way to the neoliberal dogma that mandates the abolition of any obstacle to the empire of business. At risk are the environment and biodiversity, workers’ rights, business survival and local supply chains. Not least, public health and food safety.
TTIP, ‘
the never ending story
‘
As of July 2013 the negotiations for a free trade treaty between the European Union and the United States (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP) were beginning, under grave secrecy about scope and content. With the stated goal of increasing EU-US trade and investment by removing trade barriers, tariff and non-tariff.
In 2017, Donald Trump, as soon as he took office, followed up his election proclamations and with the motto ‘America first‘ declared his intention to block the negotiations that were already close to being finalized, in the secrecy of the impregnable ‘data room‘. A sigh of relief on both sides of the Atlantic in the face of widespread anxiety over possible negative implications in terms of the survival of local businesses and jobs.
On 4/15/19, the EU Council – with only France voting against – admittedly useful for domestic electoral purposes but not for the cause – approved the start of a new season of negotiations with the US. Press releases refer to a ‘mini-agreement,’ blandished with the emblematic as much as quack example of hypothetical price increases on Levi’s jeans (whose factories are located on 5 continents).
Commissioner Cecilia Malström has already declared a willingness to finalize the agreement – but what agreement? – before the long-awaited expiration of the commission led by Jean-Claude Juncker. Frequent visitor to the
Bilderberg
and member of the
Trilateral
(founded by David
Rockefeller
in 1973). As well as grand master of toxic treaties, arbitration clauses that allow companies to sue states and supranational institutions (ISDS, Investor-State Dispute Settlement), guarantees of impunity of the Corporation.
The #StopISDS Petition, #StopCorporateImpunity, #BindingTreaty reconfirms its relevance. We invite all readers to sign it and spread the propaganda to affirm people’s rights and rules for multinational corporations at the UN by following the link
https://stop-ttip-italia.net/diritti-per-le-persone-regole-per-le-multinazionali/
.
The ‘government of change’,
aka
the Leopard
The ‘government of change’ had at the time pledged to stop neoliberal treaties, waving the yellow-green flag of the sovereignty of the Italian people. Except then the minister for economic development Luigi Di Maio, as soon as he takes office, declare his assent at the signing of theEU-Japan Partnership Agreement (JEFTA). So now, the minister Gian Marco Centinaio Declares itself in favor of the ratification of CETA, the toxic EU-Canada treaty. In full continuity, note well, with the Renziloni governments.
‘
Regarding Ceta, MESChina, TTIP.
and treaties of the same tenor we intend to oppose in all fora, as they result in an excessive weakening of the protection of citizens’ rights, as well as an impairment of virtuous competition to the detriment of the sustainability of the internal market’
(‘
Contract for the Government of Change
‘
, Chapter 29 – European Union).
The deputy
premier
Matteo Salvini, it is worth recalling, had called TTIP ‘an attempt at genocide of European peoples (…) a criminal treaty that only madmen could endorse‘. (1) In defiance of the false promises of ‘change’ and those who believed them. The only question remains who are the ‘crazy people’ who ‘might endorse’ this ‘criminal treaty’(ipse dixit).
TTIP, negotiations under threat of extortion
On 9.4.19 Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs, with a total value estimated at $11 billion, on imports of European products (including agribusiness). It is worth recalling in this regard Commissioner Cecilia Malmström’s words that ‘we will not beblackmailed and we will not negotiate with someone holding a gun to our heads.’ (1) Europe thus starts the new negotiations ‘with a gun to the temple,’ as lucidly noted by Monica di Sisto, spokesperson for the #STOPTTIP_Italy Campaign. (2)
The crime of extortion, in the Italian criminal code, occurs when ‘anyone, by means of
violence
o
threat
, forcing someone to do or omit something, procures for himself or others an unjust profit to the detriment of others‘. And it is aggravated, among other things, when committed by more than one person’. (3) But sovereignty, as is clear, has long been lost.
È
precisely the threat of an unjust fact – such as precisely, the arbitrary and unilateral imposition of duties on imports (the legitimacy of which is questionable even in the WTO) – that offers leverage to the European Commission. To present the treaty as ‘the lesser evil’ and indeed ‘the way forward’ so as to restore breath to the economy of the old continent, already strangled by the ‘shock economy. Defined precisely as the ‘tactical panacea of contemporary capitalism: inducing a state of political, social or economic shock to effect rapid, permanent and irreversible change in society.’ (4) To avoid tariffs, Europe should therefore ‘facilitate U.S. exports.’ And with them, evidently, the respective norms of production. (5)
In the agribusiness sector, this means exposing European production to competition from goods made at far lower costs, in the substantial asymmetry of American rules. Where cattle are inflated with synthetic hormones and poultry meat decontaminated in chlorine solutions. Cloned animals and GMO plants
are devoid of traceability and transparency, poisonous pesticides
allowed even at the post-harvest stage, food additives at will without prior authorization for their use on the various product categories.
However, Cecilia Malmström promises that ‘everything possible‘ will be done to conclude the agreement. While Emmanuel Macron puts on a good face, so as to regain popularity after the protests that brought the ‘gilets jaunes‘ to the streets for months.’A good discussion of trades. can only be done on a mutually balanced basis, and under no circumstances under threat‘. (5)
TTIP, the new coming of age
The EU Council gave a negotiating mandate, to the European Commission, (6) in relation to two agreements covering:
- Elimination of tariff barriers on industrial goods, excluding agri-food products. (7) With express provision for an arbitration clause that will also allow private parties to take action against states and governments, in the ISDS style (‘an effective and binding dispute settlement mechanism to ensure that the Parties observe mutually agreed rules‘). (8)
- Removal of non-tariff barriers to trade by introducing ‘conformity checks‘. That is, to disapply the licensing procedures established to protect public health and the environment (in the areas of chemical, biological and microbiological safety, for example) on goods and services arriving from the US. (9) To this end, a ‘regulatory cooperation’ body is to be established.
Tariff barriers are defined as import duties and other measures of similar effect, such as assigning different customs codes to certain products than those applied to identical domestic goods. Conversely, non-tariff barriers (TBT, Technical Barriers to Trade) can be identified in a plurality of measures taken by individual countries or their international formations to regulate markets, protect consumers or other resources.
The real danger for European citizens and consumers is the agreement on non-tariff barriers. For with it abjures the sovereignty of countries and local governments to impose rules to protect the environment and biodiversity, workers’ rights, public health, food safety and other products. And the mandate, it should be noted, does not include any limitation and therefore also applies to agricultural and food products. (10)
Disaster is coming. The negotiating mandate, in this case as in previous ones, does not even mention the precautionary principle on which European law is based. We will thus be forced to accept-even in public procurement-goods and services made in defect of the rules protecting the environment and safety, in dumpingconditions compared toEuropean productions that are subject to them instead. With the aggravating circumstance of not even being able to submit this umpteenth toxic treaty for prior ratification by national parliaments, since it does not include investment-related clauses.
Not even Greta Thunberg will be able to save us. It is too late to demand adherence to the program of the ‘government of change,’ since the Leopard-just as the puppets in opposition today would have done-has already done Washington’s bidding. Most recently exacerbated with the Libyan military threat and the Iranian oil embargo. We are left only with the hope and opportunity to vote for good, every day, with our responsible consumer choices. #IVoteWithPortfolio, fair supply chains.
and sustainable
.
Dario Dongo and Giulia Torre
Notes
(3) See Criminal Code of the Italian Republic, Articles 629 and 628 paragraph 3 item 1
(4) See Naomi Klein, ‘Shock economy. The rise of disaster capitalism‘ (BUR, Rizzoli Universal Library, Milan, 2008)
(5)
https://www.euractiv.com/section/economy-jobs/news/macron-not-in-favour-of-ttip-type-us-eu-deal/
(6)
http://dsms.consilium.europa.eu/952/Actions/Newsletter.aspx?messageid=31242&customerid=14788&password=enc_3042424145364637_enc
(7) Products listed in Annex I of the ‘WTO Agreement on Agriculture‘ are excluded. That is, predominantly, goods falling under chapters 1-24 of the ‘Harmonized System’ of nomenclature for the classification of products. Included are, for example, live animals, meat, dairy products, eggs, honey, animal products, plants, fruits, coffee, beverages, tobacco Excluded, however, are fish products
(8)
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39181/st06052-ad01-en19.pdf
(9)
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/39179/st06053-ad01-en19.pdf
‘
The objective of the negotiation is to facilitate trade between the EU and the US through the development of streamlined processes to ease the recognition of conformity assessment results that confirm compliance of products with a party’s technical regulations
‘
(10) The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) itself could be characterized as a non-tariff barrier, in those parts where the European legislator has decided to steer the agri-food supply chains of the old continent in an eco-logical direction,
respectful of the environment and animal welfare.
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
Graduated in law, master in European Food Law, she deals with agro-food, veterinary and agricultural legislation. She is a PhD in agrisystem.
