Public consultation on ISDS in TTIP started – participate and show rejection of ISDS As previously announced the Commission has launched its consultation on Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in the trade agreement with the United States (TTIP). We are disappointed that there is no question about whether ISDS should be…

TTIP website of the Greens/EFA group online The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament has set up a new web site on TTIP. There you can find campaign videos, up-to-date information and much useful background material. http://ttip2014.eu/   Two LSE studies about ISDS There are two new studies of the…

Director-General of the WTO Azevedo in the committee meeting In the trade committee (INTA) meeting the Director General of the World Trade Organisation Azevedo reported on the results of the Ministerial Conference in Bali. In his speech he presented the Bali package as a great success. Azevedo stated that the…

The Free Trade Agreement with the USA (TTIP)  After the public pressure of the last months, the Commission has relented at least partly on the highly dangerous Investor-State-Dispute-Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. There will be a three month open consultation starting in March on the basis of a preliminary draft of the…

Hearing on social and environmental standards in trade agreements In a hearing in the trade committee the International Labor Organisation (ILO) presented a study which compared the effectiveness of social and environmental standards in trade agreements of the EU and the USA. The study concludes that the US’ system is…

TTIP The second negotiating round, which was postponed due to the US-American shutdown, is taking place this week (11 – 15 November). Market access (especially investment and services), tariffs as well as energy and raw materials are on the agenda. The third negotiating round will take place in December as…

Hearing on EU-US free trade agreement in the European Parliament The second negotiation round, which was planned for 7-11 October in Brussels, has been cancelled due to the US budget dispute. On 14 October a hearing on the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) took place in the committee on…

Fires in factories in Bangladesh In the Trade Committee the Bangladeshi ambassador reported on progress with social standards and the factories’ security. The responsible for the factories, in which the fires occurred, have been arrested. 200 additional inspectors are made available for security checks in the factories. The ambassador lauded…

Report “Trade and Development” The Report “Trade and Development” by the conservative rapporteur Saifi has been approved by the INTA-Committee. We managed to put through some important points: – For the first time the parliament claims binding provisions concerning company’s social responsibility. – Furthermore, human rights provisions in trade agreements…