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EU releases US trade pact details in transparency bid

10 October 2014, 17:48 CET
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(BRUSSELS) - Brussels released the playbook for its talks with Washington on a giant EU-US trade deal on Thursday, saying it wanted to be transparent about a pact that has been criticised for favouring big business.

European and US negotiators have been in talks for more than a year to create the world's biggest free-trade and investment agreement, the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

But the ambitious pact has raised an array of concerns about issues including whether it will override local laws, and sharp accusations that negotiations are taking place behind closed doors to protect the advance of corporate interests.

"I'm delighted EU governments have chosen today to make the TTIP negotiating mandate public - something I've been encouraging them to do for a long time," European Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht said in a statement.

"It further underlines our commitment to transparency as we pursue the negotiations," he added.

The 18-page document was previously marked classified before its official release on Thursday, but it had already widely been leaked, with some of its most controversial aspects in public circulation.

Making the negotiating mandate public was an early demand of TTIP's many critics since the talks began in June 2013.

The potential agreement, towards which a seventh round of negotiations was completed last week, is seen by Brussels and Washington as a means to bolster an already strong relationship while boosting economic growth and creating jobs.

But it has drawn criticism from several sources.

One of the most contentious clauses is the so-called investor-state dispute settlement, or ISDS, which allows firms to sue national governments if they feel that local laws -- such as health and safety regulations -- violate the trade deal and threaten their investments.

Activists and critics, including the influential German government, fear the mechanism could allow multinational companies to bypass national legislation and undermine national sovereignty.

Europe's incoming trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem on Monday opened the door to scrapping the controversial provision once she takes over from De Gucht, probably next month.

Directives for the negotiation on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the United States of America


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