Talks for a free trade deal between Europe and the United States face a serious impasse with irreconcilable differences in some areas. The two sides are at odds over US demands that would require the EU to break promises it has made on environmental protection.
According to Caucus 99 Percent, an EU trade negotiator revealed that talks on cosmetics remain very difficult and the scope of common objectives are fairly limited. Due to the European ban on animal testing, the EU and US approache are still irreconcilable and EU market access problems will therefore remain.
US demands include an obligation on the EU to inform its industries of any planned regulations in advance and to allow them the same input into EU regulatory process as European firms. The US is also proposing new articles on science and risk to give firms greater regulatory say. Disputes over pesticides, residues, and food safety would be dealt with by the UN food and Agriculture Organization's Codex Alimentarius System, My Broadband has learned.
Jorgo Riss, the director of Greenpeace EU stated, "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 Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (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.", as cited on Blacklisted News. EU has not yet accepted the US demands, however, they are uncontested in the negotiators' note and no counter proposals have been made in the said areas.
The leaked documents offer a robust defence of the EU's right to regulate and create a court-like system for disputes. The outlined positions between EU and US negotiators during the 12th and 13th round of TTIP talk took place in New York, USA last week.
