Impact of the American Trans-Pacific Partnership on goods imported into the EU under TTIP

17.4.2015

Question for written answer P-006179-15
to the Commission
Rule 130
Sylvie Goddyn (NI) , Marine Le Pen (NI)

The USA is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with 11 Pacific Rim countries.

The Wikileaks website has revealed that this agreement, generally referred to as TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), will allow undertakings based in signatory countries to contest national legislation before the courts. It will be sufficient for legislation, including its prescriptive provisions, to endanger the companies' investments.

Private companies in signatory States could therefore bring legal action against US legislation because it damages their financial or commercial prospects. TPP negotiators considered these provisions to be sufficiently sensitive to require them not to be published until four years after the agreement had been signed or abandoned or had lapsed.

If TTIP and TPP are signed, goods imported into the EU may be affected by amendments to US legislation occasioned by court decisions.

Bearing in mind that the Commission claims that TTIP will merely improve consumer protection, could the Commission indicate which precise provisions of TTIP prevent free trade agreements signed by the United States from having an automatic effect, directly or indirectly, on the level of regulation of goods and services whose importation into the EU is authorised?