On April 25, 2016 the non-profit organizations Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) launched a campaign aiming to ensure that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) does not undermine EU chemicals legislation. The 13th round of TTIP negotiations between the EU and the U.S. started on the same day in New York, U.S.. TTIP is “a threat to the EU’s ability to protect people from toxic chemical exposure,” the organizations write, as “EU legislation is currently much more protective than U.S. regulations.” In particular, the organizations are concerned that TTIP could undermine or interfere with the European regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), EU pesticides legislation, and regulatory efforts to limit exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
Therefore, the campaign requests that: 1) Chemicals are excluded from the regulatory cooperation in TTIP, 2) no elements of the EU policy “Better Regulation” are embedded in TTIP, and 3) no provisions enabling multinational companies to sideline EU courts and sue European states are included in TTIP. Further details can be found on the campaign website.
At the launch of the campaign, HEAL and CIEL, together with non-profit organizations European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and ClientEarth, sent an open letter to the EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström urging her to exclude the EU’s “Better Regulation” agenda from a legally-binding TTIP agreement.
Read more
HEAL (April 25, 2016). “A new campaign to protect EU chemical laws.”
TTIP: Private profit versus public health.
CIEL, ClientEarth, EEB & HEAL (April 25, 2016). “Re: Call to exclude the ‘Good Regulatory Practices’ chapter from TTIP.” (pdf)
Chemical Watch (April 26, 2016). “NGOs, industry set out positions as TTIP talks resume.“
