Protest stalls to raise awareness of TTIP

Campaign group 38 Degrees will be holding simultaneous protest stalls across Calderdale.
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The events are to protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership trade agreement (TTIP).

Concerns have been raised that the treaty will open up European public services - health, education and water - to U.S. companies, raising fears that it could lead to further privatisation of the NHS.

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TTIP also includes measures to bring European food and environmental laws in line with US regulations - laws which are much less strict than Europe - raising fears that genetically modified food could become commonplace across the EU.

The agreement will also require internet service providers to monitor its users activities - a law rejected by the EU in 2012.

The legislation also calls for parity on banking and financial regulation between EU members and America.

The European Union has noted that TTIP will probably cause unemployment as jobs switch to the U.S. where labour standards are lower and trade unions have limited influence compared to EU countries.

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Similar agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico resulted in more than a million jobs being lost in the U.S. Critics also claim that TTIP will undermine democracy and sovereignty across Europe.

The legislation will bring in the introduction of Investor-state Dispute Settlements which allows companies to sue governments if those governments’ laws and policies cause a loss a of profits.

This means that unelected international corporations will have more control over policy than elected governments, that could undermine public health legislation.

There will be stalls outside Todmorden Market, St George’s Square Hebden Bridge and outside Wilkinson’s in Halifax town centre on Saturday, August 22, from 11am.