Greenpeace Leaks Big Part Of Secret TTIP Documents (bbc.com)

An anonymous reader writes: The environmental group Greenpeace has obtained 248 pages of classified documents from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade talks. The group warns EU standards on the environment and public health risk being undermined by compromises with the US, specifically that US corporations may erode Europe's consumer protections. The TTIP would "harmonize regulations across a huge range of business sectors, providing a boost to exporters on both sides of the Atlantic," writes the BBC. After the Greenpeace leak was published, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said in her blog, "I am simply not in the business of lowering standards." Meanwhile, Greenpeace EU director Jorgo Riss said, "These leaked documents confirm what we have been saying for a long time: TTIP would put corporations at the center of policy-making, to the detriment of environment and public health." You can be the judge for yourself. The leaked documents are available for download here.

Comments

Since the TPP and TTIP are often mentioned togethr

[Anonymous Coward]

The EFF has a great write up on how the TPP (the trans pacific partnership, another one of these shitpile laws) will affect anyone even remotely interested in technology. It's a great link to send around to anyone who's thinking "I'm not in manufacturing, why should I care?"

It's bad, folks. And even worse because in summer 2015, before the election, before both the GOP (!) and Dem candidate came out against the TPP, Obama fought and beat back his own party to get fast track authority for approval, meaning now it's way easier for it to get approved, with no ability to strip out the bad parts or filibuster against it.

Re:Could be anything

[Anonymous Coward]

And there are people like yourself that see conspiracies everywhere. Sorry to tell you that the information leaked is probably accurate and most likely doesn't tell the entire story of how awful TTIP will be for the average consumer.

Environmental damage is fungible

[rmdingler]

It's a tough ask really, when you consider that much of the West's industrial competitiveness is bartered away when the Europeans and Americans and Australians legislate high domestic standards for emissions and environmental minimums; and then, pretend those industries aren't poisoning the earth making shiny stuff at Chinese factories that follow less rigorous environmental guidelines.

Greater effort toward universal compliance should be the objective.

Re:Environmental damage is fungible

[PRMan]

If the harmonization were UP, then that would be true. But it's more like lowering the rest of us back toward Chinese levels.

Why is no one asking the obvious question

[Anonymous Coward]

Serious question: Why is any part of a multi national trade deal classified information ? Why is this even a thing? No one has mentioned one single sound reason at any level of discourse why any of this is classified. I do not live under a rock but maybe I should.

Re:Why is no one asking the obvious question

[Anonymous Coward]

What is even more sad is we have to find out not from law enforcement or our gov officials doing the right thing. We are finding out thru leaks.

If you are hiding something like this behind 'classified' criteria then you probably are doing something you shouldnt be.

Re:Why is no one asking the obvious question

[UnknownSoldier]

> Why is any part of a multi national trade deal classified information ?

The answer to that is classified. :-)

You mean you don't trust a government where the FBI director wants expanded law enforcement access to encrypted data but yet still has the gall to make laws in secret?

What are you? A commie for pointing out the government officials are hypocrites? :-)

--
First Contact is coming ~2022. Are you ready for a larger perspective?

Re:Not saying there isn't a problem...

[PRMan]

I was just happy that Greenpeace did something useful for once...

One thing seems to be true

[no-body]

In the US, questionable items, like GMO, fracking, meds, hormons of various kinds etc. are allowed until proven harmful by scientific methods. In EU, questionable items are generally not allowed unless proven harmless by scientific methods (probably not quite true looking at the radioactive waste disposal issue - surely harmful to some extent - has not been resolved there).

So, who is the test animal?

Can be gotten from there: https://www.ttip-leaks.org/

Seems to be only a small part - couple of 100 pages of several thousand, as the whole secrete pile apparently is.
Why is it secret? Because it is dirty!

   

Re:Could be anything

[plopez]

There actually is a conspiracy, corporations vs. humans.

Basic problem

[mdsolar]

Agreement let's corporation sue governments for doing their job and win every time. Makes corporations sovereign and governments unable to act on behalf of their citizens.