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Focus on: TTIP & labour and services


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Unions seek stronger labour laws in US-EU free trade talks
Just days after it was announced that the USA and the European Union were to open discussions on a free trade agreement worth trillions of dollars, trade unions on both sides of the Atlantic said that employment rights had to be a key issue on the agenda.
US, UK want financial services as part of trade pact
The United States and the UK aim to include financial services in a proposed free-trade agreement between Washington and the 27-nation European Union, the British ambassador to the United States said on Thursday.
Free trade: Bilateral and multilateral negotiations dangerous for financial regulation and taxation
Financial services — both in terms of market access and how they are regulated — are a critical issue in the EU-US FTA (TTIP) talks. Analysis from WEED and SOMO.
European Trade Union: voters will sanction secret trade giveaways
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) today warned European decision makers that voters in the forthcoming European elections would be scrutinising EU trade arrangements, in particular the current negotiations with the United States, and "would not overlook" any deals that did not put European jobs and standards first.
EU-US FTA: "Free trade agreement must immediately stop"
IG Metall leader Detlef Wetzel fears disadvantages for workers and consumers if the EU and the US create a free trade zone. "The negotiations must be stopped," he states categorically.
TTIP: A charter for deregulation, an attack on jobs, an end to democracy.
This new booklet, written by John Hilary, Executive Director of War on Want, explains in short what TTIP is and how it will affect the lives of all of us if it comes into force.
What does the TTIP really mean for workers?
As public awareness increases about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an EU-US trade deal being negotiated behind closed doors, so too do concerns about its potential impact.
Trans-Atlantic labor union calls for higher labor standards in US-European Union trade agreement
"We view TTIP as a threat to the rights of workers in Europe," said Len McCluskey, General Secretary of UNITE the Union in the UK and Ireland. "We can’t afford to import America’s low labor rights standards."
No to trade deals that threaten democracy!
A new publication from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) exposes the corporate power grab at the core of two mega-treaties: TPP and TTIP
TTIP must work for the people, or it won’t work at all
Leaders of the American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations and the European Trade Union Confederation today call for a "gold standard" EU-US trade deal that improves living and working conditions on both sides of the Atlantic.
Bernadette Ségol (ETUC) & Richard Trumka (AFL-CIO) - Joint video interview on TTIP
Joint interview on TTIP by Bernadette Ségol, ETUC General Secretary & Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President
Leaked documents TTIP reveal substantial EU commitments, public services not excluded
Documents leaked to EPSU indicate the substantial commitments the European Union is prepared to make to offer access for US companies to European markets under TTIP
EU-US FTA (TTIP) - draft services/investment offer (May 2014)
as leaked to EPSU and released on 13 June 2014
TTIP: Labour will not back EU-US trade deal without NHS safeguards
The UK’s shadow trade and investment minister Ian Murray has said that Labour will withdraw its support for the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) if safeguards are not inserted to protect public services including the NHS from US investors.
The European Commission must not trade off our crown jewels when negotiating the EU-US trade and investment deal
SOLIDAR, the Social Platform, EPSU and EPHA are jointly calling on the European Commission to explicitly exclude public services, including social and health services, from the ongoing TTIP negotiations.
EU and US insurers support including financial services market access and regulatory cooperation in TTIP
Insurance Europe, the American Insurance Association and the American Council of Life Insurers have issued a statement supporting the inclusion of market access and regulatory cooperation in financial services in TTIP.
Commission closes TTIP consultation — But is it listening?
Bernadette Ségol the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation says trade unionists are “particularly concerned at statements from DG Trade implying that the consultation is about a reform of the ISDS system and is not open to a decisive rejection.”
AFL-CIO and ETUC issue "Declaration of Joint Principles"
Ahead of the 6th round of EU-US trade negotiations taking place next week in Brussels, the US and European trade unions AFL-CIO and ETUC have issued a "Declaration of Joint Principles".
US and EU unions criticise transatlantic trade deal
The largest trade unions in the US and EU are calling for protections for online privacy and the dropping of special protections for foreign investors as part of a long series of demands to secure their backing for a transatlantic trade pact.