TRADE unions and charities will tomorrow take part in a nationwide day of action against the international trade treaty TTIP.

Opponents of the deal are setting up stalls across Scottish towns and cities including Glasgow, Ayr, Dundee and Kirkcaldy to hand out leaflets and campaign material ahead of the latest round of negotiations.

A total of 26 organisations including the international development charity War on Want, the environment group Friends of the Earth and the anti-smoking campaign organisation Ash Scotland are due to participate.

The day of action is also being planned to highlight concerns about TTIP – which stands for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – in the run up to the Scottish Parliament elections on May 5.

Holyrood candidates are being asked to sign a pledge saying they would do all they can to oppose TTIP and a similar EU/Canadian business treaty CETA – the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – if elected.

The TTIP deal is currently being negotiated between the European Union and the USA, and includes plans for the creation of a new supranational court, the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), enabling large companies to sue governments over legislation they say would damage their business.

The European Commission – which is leading the negotiations – estimates the TTIP deal could boost the size of the EU economy by £85 billion by removing trade barriers with the United States.

Supporters also insist it will lead to consumers enjoying cheaper products and services as tariff barriers – levies imposed to control cross-border trade – are cut to zero.

However, opponents say the main beneficiaries will be large American corporations, while workers’ rights, environmental and food safety regulations could be undermined in order to cut costs and boost profits.

Liz Murray, head of Scottish campaigns at Global Justice Now said: “The day of action on toxic trade deals is all about raising awareness of the threats from a new wave of mega trade deals such as TTIP and CETA.

“Successive Scottish governments have chosen a more progressive path than Westminster on things like banning smoking in public places, cutting climate change emissions and passing a moratorium on fracking. But TTIP and CETA would mean that corporations could sue the government for billions in secret courts for passing laws that might harm their profits.

“The upcoming Holyrood election is an important opportunity to ask MSP candidates where they stand on these secretive deals which could undermine the ability of the Scottish Parliament to take decisions in the public interest. We urge candidates from all parties to sign the Scotland Against TTIP pledge and to stand in the way of this unprecedented corporate power grab.”

Law suits against a number of national governments have already taken place in other countries which have taken part in similar trade agreements which include a corporate court mechanism.

Fracking company Lone Pine launched a $230 million lawsuit against the Canadian Government in 2011 following Quebec’s moratorium on fracking in 2011 because of environmental concerns.

The firm, which had been issued with fracking licenses before the moratorium, raised the action under the NAFTA trade agreement using the treaty’s ISDS mechanism, claiming a threat to its future profits.

The Scottish Government has no formal role in the negotiations and ratification of the agreement is the responsibility of the European Parliament and EU heads of states. Negotiations began in July 2013 and are expected to continue throughout much of next year.

The thirteenth round of TTIP negotiations will take place in New York next week.

A spokesman for the Confederation of British Industry said: “The EU and US have a combined population of 800 million, almost half the world’s GDP and 30 per cent of international trade, so concluding a free trade agreement would be a landmark achievement, making a hefty contribution to economic growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.”


Dave Moxham: All MSPs need to publicly oppose TTIP and CETA trade agreements