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On Saturday 11th October from 12-1pm, protesters in Halifax will demonstrate against a major trade deal being negotiated between the United States and the EU, which threatens democracy, the environment, and public services including the NHS.
The Halifax protest, in the pedestrianised area outside Marks & Spencer, is one of many demonstrations planned across Europe on 11th October.
If agreed, the deal will reduce tariffs (taxes on imports and exports), but the major focus is on reducing ‘non-tariff barriers to trade’. This is the part that most concerns trade unions and environmental and social justice campaigners, because it’s about national laws and regulations that protect the environment, public services and people’s rights at work – including the right to a mimimum wage or living wage.
The deal, which some protesters call the Big Bad Treaty, would make it easier for multinationals to sue governments over environmental and safety standards – or anything else that threatened to reduce their profits.
A clause in the Treaty would allow multinational corporations to dispute national laws which they argue reduce their profits, in private tribunals mediated by three ‘trade experts’.
If they win, this could result in the companies suing the government about legislation designed to protect public services, or protect employment conditions such as minimum wages, or protect the environment from pollution or degradation..
TTIP could also irreversibly entrench privatisation of public services like the NHS.
If TTIP is agreed, it will also be used to impose damaging trade conditions on countries in the global south.
The evidence shows that TTIP could have a detrimental impact in the UK, and become the new model for future trade agreements worldwide.
Proponents of TTIP say that it will lead to £100 billion in extra growth for the EU and act as “the cheapest stimulus package imaginable”. But a recent study commissioned by the UK government concluded that the investment section of TTIP would have “few or no benefits” for the UK.
Much doubt has been cast on the £100 billion figure itself, with a recent study by academics from Manchester and Ghent universities estimating that the likely effect on growth will be a small fraction of this amount.
Protestors will be explaining the issue to the public and encouraging them to sign a petition or contact their MP or MEP to express their concerns.
For more information contact Rachel Johnston on 0781 659 5739 or email |||EMAIL_ADDRESS||| This entry was posted in damned lies & austerity, Do something! and tagged Global Justice Calderdale, Halifax, Stop TTIP by jenny. Bookmark the permalink.
There will also be people leafletting about TTIP, in Dewsbury and Huddersfield on the 11th October. Starting at 11am outside the pub next to the the train station Dewsbury and in Huddersfield, behind the library, in front of the pound shops at 11am.
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In that passage, there are ninety-six occurrences of the letter "d."
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