TTIP will damage public health and climate, says official report | bilaterals.org
TTIP will damage public health and climate, says official report
TTIP will damage public health and climate, says official report
The controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
(TTIP) being negotiated between the EU and USA will have negative
effects on public health, jobs and the climate, according to the official impact assessment published today.
The 394-page report has taken two and a half years to complete, and
provides a unique insight into the damaging social and environmental
consequences of TTIP for the people of Europe and the USA.
John Hilary, Executive Director of War on Want, said: “The
revelations in this new report hammer the final nails into the coffin of
TTIP. The official assessment has shown the true extent of the threat
that this dirty deal poses to our common futures, and it is not pretty.
We call on the EU to stop the negotiations now to prevent these dangers
from becoming a reality.”
Public health risks
The impact assessment warns that TTIP will lead to increased levels
of diet-related diseases such as obesity and diabetes as a result of
increased consumption of unhealthy foods such as soft drinks and
processed foods that contain high degrees of salt and fat. TTIP also
jeopardises attempts to curb the negative effects of alcohol and tobacco
consumption in Europe, according to the report, as lower-cost US
imports will lead to increased levels of cancer and stroke.
Using the most direct language, the impact assessment notes that TTIP
risks undermining the human right to health in Europe, with the worst
consequences reserved for the poorest and most vulnerable in society. It
also states that TTIP is in direct conflict with the Sustainable
Development Goals adopted by all countries at the United Nations just
last year.
Job losses
The impact assessment report calculates that TTIP will lead to the
loss of at least one million jobs in the EU and USA combined, and more
than two million if the ‘ambitious’ version of TTIP is achieved. The
impact of these job losses will be highest among low-skilled workers,
according to the report, who will also find it more difficult to secure
alternative employment once they have lost their jobs.
European workers in the electrical machinery sector will be
particularly hard hit, with as much as 7.5% of the entire workforce
(over 100,000 jobs) set to go as a result of TTIP. The beleaguered
European steel industry will also see job losses from TTIP, according to
the report, adding to the problems faced by the sector as a result of
previous market liberalisation.
Meat production in the EU is confirmed as another of the sectors that
will face the most job losses from TTIP, as unfair competition from
industrial-scale US agriculture drives European farmers out of business.
Countries such as Ireland have been warned by the European Commission
to expect severe shocks to their beef industry as a result of TTIP.
