Activist newsletter TTIP update for Scottish activists March 2016
We’re keen to hear from you about whether this is useful to you – and if you have suggestions for improvements or additions. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Contact: Jane Herbstritt on [email protected] 0131 243 2730
March action checklist CETA timetable •• Contact your local Scottish parliament election As far as we know, CETA will now go to an EU candidates and ask them to sign the TTIP/CETA Council meeting in June for the trade ministers of all pledge 28 EU member states to review, and then sign off (if they decide to do so) at their following meeting in •• Write to your MEPs and tell them to oppose CETA: September. It will then by handed to the European go to the Global Justice Now trade campaign parliament to schedule a final vote on CETA. From e-action what we hear at the moment, this is likely to take •• Has your local university become a TTIP free zone place in February 2017. So, that is less than a year to yet? Are you a student or can you work with stop CETA! students to help make it happen? Contact Cat at Global Justice Now for support with this TTIP negotiators attempt to speed up the process Trade Negotiations latest After a two-year exclusion from TTIP negotiations, the ISDS clause was one of the main issues to be ‘ISDS-lite’ to be included in CETA discussed at the latest round of TTIP negotiations. The fact that the Investor Court System has now The EU Commission and the Canadian government been brought to the negotiating table is a sign have announced that the new Investment Court of EU negotiators’ attempts to speed up the System (ICS) will be included in the final text of negotiating process in the hope that a deal might CETA. ICS will replace the Investor State Dispute be struck before Obama’s administration ends. Settlement (ISDS) clause that has proved so However, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest controversial for CETA and TTIP. While the removal of reported in early February that TTIP was not a ISDS from the trade agreement is evidence of the priority for President Obama, and would not be EU Commission’s concern over public opposition to completed while he is in office. these corporate courts, unfortunately the ICS is not really much of an improvement. Parliamentary Updates While previous ISDS clauses in trade agreements have created ad hoc courts for investors, ICS will European parliament mean the creation of a permanent international court for investors, with publicly appointed judges Trade committee discusses CETA and TTIP and more transparency. The problem, of course, is At their meeting on 14 March the INTA (trade) that this simply lends a whiff of legitimacy to a court committee of the European parliament discussed system that only corporations, not ordinary citizens, updates on CETA and the TTIP negotiations with have access to. At the beginning of February, representatives from the EU Commission. You will a group of German judges put out a statement find all the latest information about what was questioning the legitimacy of such a court system, discussed here. that will force member states to submit to the court, and therefore undermine the sovereignty of those nations. Read Global Justice Now’s blog post UK parliament campaign pack to help activists lobby candidates about these trade deals. A new website has been New Minister for Trade and Investment set up: www.scotlandagainstttip.org.uk which will Lord Mark Price will replace Lord Maude, who have all this information on it, and where we will recently stepped down as Trade and Investment keep a tally of the number of candidates from Minister. Until April, Mark Price will remain as each party who have signed the pledge. Managing Director of Waitrose, and Deputy Chair We really need your help to contact candidates of John Lewis. He is also Deputy Chair of Channel from across Scotland to sign up to the pledge. 4 and had been tipped to become the next Please contact the election candidates in your Chair. Mark Price has no previous experience of local area from all political parties. On the a government position. It will be he who is the Scotland Against TTIP website we will put contact UK’s representative at the EU Council of Ministers details for local candidates, as we find them out. meeting in June when they review CETA. Between There is also a page where you can upload photos now and April, Baroness Anelay as been appointed of candidates signing the pledge. The campaign as the interim Minister for Trade and Investment. pack is online and you can download it from: http://scotlandagainstttip.org.uk/campaign-pack/ New CETA briefing or contact our office for a hardcopy of the pack The UK parliament has produced a new briefing on and any A3 size pledges you need. CETA. Read it here Local election hustings Scottish parliament Please keep a look out for local hustings where you CETA inquiry can ask questions about local candidates’ views on TTIP and CETA. Stop Climate Chaos Scotland The European and External Relations committee (SCCS) have organised a series of candidate cafes at Holyrood took evidence from the European on climate change which are opportunities for the Commission via video link on CETA, at a meeting general public to meet with their local Holyrood in February. MSPs gave the European Commission candidates and discuss issues that are important a rather easy time of it, and did not follow up the to them. Although SCCS are keen for people to lawyers’ answers with anything too probing. They talk about issues related to climate change, it is have followed the evidence session up with a also up to the public to talk about issues that are letter to the Minister for Trade and Investment at important to them. There are cafes coming up in Westminster, and the letter expresses many of our Irvine, Glasgow, Dundee and Stirling. Go to the own and local activists’ concerns. Read it here SCCS website to find more information TTIP activists from across Scotland came together Global Justice Now has produced a briefing about with Global Justice Now and 38 Degrees for how trade deals like TTIP will have a big impact on a protest outside Holyrood after the evidence climate policy. Read it here session. We handed in a petition to members of the European and External Relations committee Transatlantic trade deals at the Scottish outside the parliament, asking Nicola Sturgeon to party conferences oppose CETA. Thanks to St. Andrews TTIP Action We are keeping transatlantic trade deals on Group for initiating the protest. the spring party conference agenda in the run- You can still sign the CETA petition online here up to the elections. At the Scottish Green Party conference as well as the Radical Independence Activism Conference we were collecting photos of Lobby your Scottish Parliament election candidates from the Scottish Greens and RISE – candidates about TTIP and CETA Scotland’s new left alliance. Global Justice Now also held a fringe event with Tasmina Ahmed Your local Scottish parliament election candidates Sheikh MP, Gordon McIntyre-Kemp from Business in need to know about TTIP and CETA and the Scotland and Polly Jones from Global Justice Now. strength of opposition there is in Scotland to these trade deals. As we mentioned in the last In the run-up to the fringe meeting there were update, Scotland Against TTIP has designed a some excellent letters in The National, as well as pledge for candidates to sign, committing them to comments online, from activists across Scotland opposing TTIP and CETA if elected. We also have a in response to articles by both Gordon McIntyre- Kemp and Tasmina Ahmed Sheikh MP. Thanks to Prayer pack on trade justice everyone for helping to keep the conversation Trade justice has always been an issue that the going in the media. churches have spoken out about. In order to inform and encourage activism by Christians on new TTIP and the NHS trade deals like TTIP and CETA, Global Justice Now Despite repeated requests from trade unions and has collated a pack for Christians to use on TTIP. people across the UK to exclude the NHS from It includes materials for Bible study, a suggested TTIP, the UK Government has refused to do so, liturgy for a church service on the theme of trade often quoting EU Trade Commissioner Malmstrom’s justice, some suggested actions, and a couple assurance that “…health services will not be of briefings. You can download the pack here or affected in any way by TTIP. The EU has a tried-and- contact us to order a hard copy: tested system of legal reservations and exceptions that make sure that trade agreements don’t affect Articles and blog posts EU governments freedom to organise their public Briefing by Client Earth on the legal process an EU services how they want to. We will use them again trade deal must go through in order to come into in TTIP.” force. Very helpful if you want to understand the Now a legal opinion has been obtained from a process that must be gone through for CETA and leading QC on European Law by the trade union TTIP to be completed. Unite. TTIP would give investors new legal rights, A survey of 800 German small and medium sized which extend beyond both UK and EU law as well businesses was recently published showing that as NHS contracts, according to Michael Bowsher 62 percent of companies questioned expect the QC, a former chair of the Bar Council’s EU law impact of the agreement on their business to be committee who was tasked by Unite to prepare negative. They were also not particularly hopeful the advice. Bowsher said he had concluded that that the deal would benefit their own businesses the deal poses “a real and serious risk” to future UK and believe that TTIP will mainly benefit large government decision making regarding the NHS. corporations.
TTIP-free local councils The zombie ISDS: excellent briefing from Corporate The TTIP-free zones campaign continues to develop Europe Observatory comparing ISDS and the new in Scotland, with councillors in Aberdeen, Islay, Investment Court system. and Perth currently being lobbied to pass strong How law firms specialising in ISDS are making huge anti-TTIP motions at local council level. We will profit(written a couple of years ago but still very shortly be boosting the campaign across the UK by relevant). teaming up with 38 Degrees on this and will let you know as soon as this is ready. Greenpeace activists blocked the entrance to the building where the latest TTIP talks were taking TTIP-free universities place from February 22nd. They managed to delay Global Justice Now, Students Against TTIP, the the talks for a number of hours. Watch the video University and Colleges Union and NUS have been here working together to push for TTIP Free Universities. A EU Commissioner talks to Exxon Mobil about how number of student unions in England have passed TTIP will improve business. motions on this already. Groups of students have recently been set up at Edinburgh and Strathclyde Interesting infographic on how digital rights will be Universities, and we hope to help more follow. A affected by the TPP agreement. resource pack for TTIP-Free Universities is being New report by Action Aid investigates the impact prepared and will be ready by April. Look out for it of trade deals like TTIP on countries in the global in the next update, but if you need it sooner than south. that you can order a pack by emailing cat.boyd@ globaljustice.org.uk Materials On 21-22 April, Barcelona city council will be New: Taxes on Trial hosting an event to promote and spread the idea New briefing by Global Justice Now about how of TTIP-Free Zones. The first day is intended for TTIP and CETA will make it harder for governments mayors and their representatives and the second to pass strong tax laws to reign in corporate tax day a bigger event open to activists, with a avoidance proposed open air meeting and entertainment in the evening. Updated Local TTIP groups across Scotland Global Justice Now general TTIP briefing Stop TTIP Aberdeen
Global Justice Ayrshire
Older briefings and materials: Stop TTIP Dundee
Flyer for Scottish Stop TTIP groups Stop TTIP Edinburgh A leaflet for local Stop TTIP groups to use that gives Global Justice Glasgow (who do regular TTIP information about all three of the huge trade deals actions, linking in with 38 degrees and the trade currently being negotiated by the EU: TTIP, CETA and unions) TiSA (Trade in Services Agreement). Stop TTIP-Highlands #NoTTIP 4-sided A5 Global Justice Now leaflet St. Andrews TTIP Action Group
Leaflet with the basics on why we are opposing TTIP, Stop TTIP Orkney (no facebook page) featuring George Osborne and David Cameron in Scotland Against TTIP corporate-sponsored racing driver outfits. An A3 leaflet is also available. Please order from the office
Race to the bottom: Regulatory Cooperation in TTIP
General CETA briefing
TTIP: The new EU-US trade deal that puts Scottish democracy in danger
TTIP banners We have a couple of banners which you’re welcome to borrow. They’re both 4m x 1.2m and are lightweight, with eyelets on each corner. One says ‘No to TTIP, stop the corporate power grab’ and the other says ‘Scotland against TTIP’.
If you’d like to borrow any of our banners, or order any of the materials listed please get in touch. Email Jane or phone 0131 2432730.
To find out how you can help tackle corporate power and become part of a Take action movement for real change visit www.globaljustice.org.uk or call 0131 2432730.
Global Justice Now campaigns for a world where resources are controlled by the many, not the few, and works in solidarity with social movements to fight injustice. We used to be the World Development Movement. Global Justice Now, Thorn House, 5 Rose Street Edinburgh EH2 2PR t: 0131 243 2730 e: [email protected] w: www.globaljustice.org.uk