Transatlantic free trade agreement criticized
April 1st, 2015A conservative columnist fears that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) will increase the power of multinational firms and weaken the consistency of European agricultural and health policy.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership would completely undermine the EU’s health, environment and consumer legislation, Anna Szabó writes in Magyar Nemzet. The conservative analyst fears that if the free trade agreement is passed, US companies will have unrestricted access to European consumers, even if they do not comply with the stricter environmental and health requirements in the EU. Among other problematic issues, US agrochemical and biotechnology companies will be able to sell products which are often criticized as health hazards in European markets. Szabó adds that the TTIP would be very harmful for Hungary, since Hungarian agriculture could not retain its GMO-free status. If implemented, the TTIP will be beneficial only for multinational companies, while the democratic power of governments to regulate markets will further decrease, Szabó contends. It is thus not at all surprising that the TTIP talks are surrounded by secrecy and the public are excluded, she concludes.
Tags: agriculutre, GMOs, trade, US