You may have heard about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the dangerous trade deal being negotiated between the EU and US. You may not have heard about a particularly disturbing part of the deal.
If passed, TTIP would allow corporations to sue governments for changes they feel might harm their profits. This appalling rule is embedded in many existing agreements and companies are already using it. Egypt is being sued for nearly £50 million for raising the minimum wage.
If TTIP goes ahead, cases like this could become widespread as more and more countries are pressured into accepting similar deals. TTIP is a global threat to democracy and together we must stop it.
Egypt raised the minimum wage in response to a demand of the Arab uprisings. Now that victory for the people is being undermined by multinational company Veolia, which is suing the government for the cost of raising workers’ salaries. Egypt is not alone.
If passed, TTIP would become a blueprint for corporate controlled trade that would be forced on countries that had nothing to do with negotiating it. We need to act quickly to stop this.
