Local councils tearing strips off TTIP -- New Internationalist

Local councils tearing strips off TTIP -- New Internationalist

Local councils tearing strips off TTIP

Politicians in both Brussels and Westminster have taken great pains to try and brush off people’s many concerns about the toxic trade deal being pushed through by the EU and the United States.

An
exciting new front is emerging in the battle against TTIP, harnessing
the energy of grassroots groups to push opposition to the corporate
power grab up the political food chain via the power of local councils.
In Britain and across Europe, TTIP Free Zones are popping up like people-power mushrooms.

On
the one hand, it may be seen as a symbolic gesture to get your local
council to declare itself a TTIP Free Zone - after all, these councils
don’t have a direct say in whether or not the deal would be passed. But
there is a real political value in creating pressure in this manner –
it’s a powerful expression of grassroots opposition that MPs and MEPs
might otherwise not be exposed to.

But TTIP Free Zones are
equally important as a means of promoting an understanding the impact
TTIP would have on the powers of local councils. TTIP could also affect
existing powers granted to local authorities such as planning. The
decision of Lancashire County Council to deny planning permission for
fracking in the local area is the sort of decision that would be harder
to make under TTIP – first because such a decision could be challenged
under ISDS, and second because of the pressure to ‘harmonize’ energy
regulations.  

The provision of local public services and
procurement could also be affected. Current EU rules allow for
environmental and social considerations in awarding contracts. For
example, local governments can decide to buy only fairtrade or organic
produce. Local authorities are also allowed to ensure that procurement
benefits small and medium-sized businesses in the area – for instance a
number of cities, including Manchester and Glasgow, have become
Sustainable Food Cities, and are trying to use more locally sourced,
sustainable food in the public sector.

This could all be
threatened under TTIP because the European Commission, keen to access US
local markets by getting rid of 'Buy America' schemes across the
Atlantic, has said it wants TTIP to open local procurement to greater
competition. This means that procurement could be constrained far more
by price alone – giving US multinationals more access to markets at the
expense of the local economy and the environment. Official EU estimates
are that TTIP will induce a 25-50% liberalization of government
procurement.