The Mind Renewed : Thinking Christianly in a New World Order - TTIP : Public Services Under Attack (War On Want)

WoW

Report by War on Want, "Public Services Under Attack", WarOnWant.org (October 2015)

Further to our recent conversation with Dr. Paul Craig Roberts on Brexit, a listener has kindly drawn my attention to this report by War on Want on the proposals for TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the EU and the US) and CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada).

It makes for some disturbing reading, but it's certainly something worth considering for us in here the UK as we wait to drop our ballot papers into those boxes in tomorrow's referendum. Some words from the Report's Executive Summary:

"Public services in the European Union (EU) are under threat from international trade negotiations that endanger governments’ ability to regulate and citizens’ rights to access basic services like water, health, and energy, for the sake of corporate profits. The EU’s CETA (Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement) agreement with Canada, the ratification of which could begin in 2016, and the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) treaty under negotiation with the United States are the latest culmination in such efforts. In a worst case scenario, they could lock in public services into a commercialisation from which they will not recover—no matter how damaging to welfare the results may be.

This report sheds some light on the secretive collusion between big business and trade negotiators in the making of the EU’s international trade deals. It shows the aggressive agenda of services corporations with regards to TTIP and CETA, pushing for far-reaching market opening in areas such as health, cultural and postal services, and water, which would allow them to enter and dominate the markets. And it shows how those in charge of EU trade negotiations are rolling out the red carpet for the services industry, with both the consolidated CETA agreement published in September 2014, as well as drafts of TTIP chapters and internal negotiation documents that reflect the wishlists of corporate lobbyists."

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