Not scared by TTIP? Well, you should be ... | Global Empire |Axisoflogic.com

A Few Reasons Why TTIP Should Scare Us All

Germans took to the streets Saturday to protest against the TTIP and the CETA, which is trade deal being negotiated between Canada and the EU. | Photo: linksjugend-paderborn.de

The secretive TTIP is nothing more than U.S. imperialism at its worst, as the trade agreement is meant to privilege their multinational companies.

The mostly secretly negotiated and highly controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, between the European Union and the United States is nothing more than a flagrant “assault on European and U.S. societies by transnational companies,” the Executive Director of War on Want John Hilary said.

Most of the information anybody knows about TTIP has come from leaks, but the whole process has been criticized as completely undemocratic and highly concerning world wide, especially since it is another Washington instrument to meddle and intervene in other countries in favor of their hugely toxic multinational corporations.

Here are six reasons that the British news outlet The Independent published on Sunday to explain “why we should be very scared of the TTIP.

1. Firing Line
One of the main aims of the TTIP is to privatize Europe’s public health, education and water services to U.S. companies.

U.K.'s internationally renowned free medical system, NHS, is at risk of being privatized through the TTIP. | Photo: Reuters

2. Food and Environment
TTIP’s regulatory convergence’ agenda will seek to bring EU standards on food safety and the environment closer to those of the U.S. But U.S. regulations are much less strict, with 70 percent of all processed foods sold in their stores currently containing genetically modified ingredients, something the EU practically does not allow. GM foods are linked to cancer.

EU regulations are far more strict on potentially toxic substances than the U.S. In Europe a company has to prove a substance is safe before it can be used, while in the United States any substance can be used until proven unsafe.

3. Banking
TTIP hands back powers to bankers that were taken away from them after the global financial crisis of 2008, brought on by U.S. banks, primarily. So, regulations and restrictions put in place to avoid another crisis will apparently be removed.

This U.S. bank was responsible for the global crisis that erupted in 2008. | Photo: Reuters

4. Privacy
TTIP will allegedly bring back the ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. It was repealed in 2012 after a huge majority in the European Parliament condemned it saying it was a major breach of privacy as internet service providers were to be required to monitor people’s online activity. This also means that public access to pharmaceutical companies’ clinical trials will also be restricted.

5. Employment
The EU believes the TTIP will spark more unemployment because jobs will move to the U.S., where labor standards and trade union rights are lower.

Photo: AFP

6. And Democracy

“TTIP’s biggest threat to society is its inherent assault on democracy,” the Independent added, explaining that the on of TTIP's main objectives is to introduce what is being called the Investor-State Dispute Settlements. This will allow companies to sue governments if those governments’ policies cause profit losses to them. Briefly, this means that powerful but unelected transnational corporations can dictate the policies of democratically elected governments.

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