Whilst privatisation of the NHS and easy access to EU markets for US suppliers are the highlighted issues surround the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) there is still the major hurdle of different food regulations.....
The highlights:
- In the US, over 90% of Corn/Soya/Cotton are genetically engineered but in the EU individual states can ban GM foods and they are rarely used.
- Over 80 pesticides used in the US are banned in Europe.
- EU bans use of growth-promoting hormones in cattle and pigs but in the US this is standard practice, so US beef can't be sold in the EU.
- In America chicken is washed with chlorinated water to kill bacteria but washing chicken in the EU banned.
Hopefully this will not be an area politicianscompromise on to reach an agreement.
Secret negotiations between the US and EU for the biggest bilateral trade agreement ever negotiated resume on April 20 in New York. The talks are attracting increasing criticism as activists guess at the proposals while politicians keep the details behind closed doors. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a massive new trade deal, expected to be completed in the next few months, that would cut tariffs on imported goods between the two powers while standardising safety rules. That might mean Scottish manufacturers can sell woollen jumpers in the US cheaply, while give US brands direct access to the EU market. Critics say it could reduce European safety standards and allow the privatisation of services such as the NHS.
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