TTIP between US and EU- interesting

[Toy Poodles]

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, now generally known as TTIP, is primarily a deal to cut tariffs and regulatory barriers to trade between the US and EU countries, making it easier for companies on both sides of the Atlantic to access each other's markets. Industries it would affect include pharmaceuticals, cars, energy, finance, chemicals, clothing and food and drink.

 

http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/trade-justice/more/inform/18078-what-is-ttip

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30493297

http://www.citizen.org/tafta

 

From what I have been reading, this trade agreement is mainly between the US and UK to help fortify both of them monetarily and to keep them as the stronger nations of the world. 

 

Which to me is interesting because we have been wondering for some time now how the UN will get teeth enough to bring down Babylon the Great. I just wonder if the ties between the US and UK will become so much stronger that they will breathe more life into the UN to bring about so called "Peace and Security and bring down Babylon the Great also". 

 

I know that there are many on this site that are smarter and more informed than I am so I would like others to help explain and give their thoughts as to how this might help start the wheels moving toward Babylon the Great going down and the cry of Peace and Security. 

thanks all

[Dustparticle]

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, now generally known as TTIP, is primarily a deal to cut tariffs and regulatory barriers to trade between the US and EU countries, making it easier for companies on both sides of the Atlantic to access each other's markets. Industries it would affect include pharmaceuticals, cars, energy, finance, chemicals, clothing and food and drink.

 

http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/trade-justice/more/inform/18078-what-is-ttip

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-30493297

http://www.citizen.org/tafta

 

From what I have been reading, this trade agreement is mainly between the US and UK to help fortify both of them monetarily and to keep them as the stronger nations of the world. 

 

Which to me is interesting because we have been wondering for some time now how the UN will get teeth enough to bring down Babylon the Great. I just wonder if the ties between the US and UK will become so much stronger that they will breathe more life into the UN to bring about so called "Peace and Security and bring down Babylon the Great also". 

 

I know that there are many on this site that are smarter and more informed than I am so I would like others to help explain and give their thoughts as to how this might help start the wheels moving toward Babylon the Great going down and the cry of Peace and Security. 

thanks all

Sis, I'm not going to be surprised about of what is going to happen. The Anglo-American power will be dominant when the end comes.

[Toy Poodles]

That is for sure and this is going along with prophecy and that is why I posted this because I think it might be what starts it all tumbling down. lol

[Greg Dent]

HA HA and all that after Canada asks for tariffs against the US for unfair sales practice of showing where beef is grown on the packages. International Trade group is pending derision on a multi billion dollar tariff against the US on behalf of Canada. Could be interesting.

[Toy Poodles]

HA HA and all that after Canada asks for tariffs against the US for unfair sales practice of showing where beef is grown on the packages. International Trade group is pending derision on a multi billion dollar tariff against the US on behalf of Canada. Could be interesting.

 

Wow I didn't know that was going on. Thanks Greg for bringing that out. We don't have tv connection so the only news I get is from the computer and there I some days I don't even look at my computer. 

[Toy Poodles]

How confusing this is so I am trying to figure it out and am sharing because I feel this maybe huge for bringing Babylon the Great down.

We have TPP, TATIP and TTIP.

 

This is what I can understand so far (from wikipedia): 

President Obama first initiated the TPP-The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed regional regulatory and investment treaty. As of 2014, twelve countries throughout the Asia Pacific region have participated in negotiations on the TPP: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia,Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam.

Implementation of the TPP is one of the primary goals of the trade agenda of the Obama administration in the United States.

On 12 November 2011, the nine Trans-Pacific Partnership countries announced that the TPP intended to "enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries, to promote innovation, economic growth and development, and to support the creation and retention of jobs." 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership

TATIP -Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the same as TTIP- Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

Here is a video explaining TTIP showing the positives of what the governments want one to believe:

accordingly it says when the 2 largest economies get together in a single free trade investment region then this will happen:

1. Regulatory Issues and Tariffs will be unified for easier trading saying they will be more compatible while keeping people protected. Providing the same level of safety across the board. They say this will cut many costs due to differences that now exist. Eliminating tariffs could boost US GDP by .4% and EU GDP by .5%. (GDP-Gross Domestic Product)

2. They say this will give an average family of 4 in the EU a disposable income of $545 euros each year and $900 each year per family in the US. 

3. They say this will create 750,000 jobs in the U.S. and 400,000 in the EU. 

Now here is a video showing the negatives of TTIP

In secrecy and away from the front pages of the newspapers or the glare of TV cameras, bureaucrats and lawyers from the USA and the EU are negotiating a new trade deal which could spell disaster in many different ways. The deal is known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP.

TTIP is a deal that aims to remove ‘non-tariff barriers to trade’. There’s very little obstacle to trade between the EU and the US at present — tariffs are at an all-time low. But corporations, on both sides of the Atlantic, want to remove other rules and regulations that might be stopping them from making even bigger profits. Worse will follow, as TTIP will become the global standard for trade deals in the future. The power shift to corporations will be echoed across the planet.

Safety regulations, workers’ rights, environmental protection rules and food standards regulations are all threatened by TTIP. All of these can and are seen by corporate interests as barriers to trade and profits. Corporations have a new way of imposing their will, called the Investor State Dispute Settlement mechanism (ISDS).

ISDS is a legal system, run entirely by corporate lawyers, which allows corporations to sue governments if they think legislation will impede future profits. It is a system that has been implemented in other trade deals previously and we can see the injustices it brings:

• Tobacco giant Philip Morris has sued Australia for introducing plain packaging on cigarettes
• Philip Morris also sued Uruguay for simply printing a health warning on cigarette packets
• Waste and energy company Veolia sued Egypt for introducing a minimum wage
• Argentina was sued for freezing energy prices to protect consumers following the country’s financial collapse

But removing ISDS will not make TTIP an acceptable deal.

Food and Agricultural multinationals are spending more money than any other sector in lobbying for TTIP, US food giants want EU legislation removed on certain food safety rules – including the bans on chickens washed in chlorinated water and meat raised using certain growth hormones and additives.

If TTIP is agreed, health, education and water will each face being opened up to private companies. The chances of rolling back any privatisation of previously publicly owned entities will be seriously diminished..

Regulations on the financial sector introduced in the wake of the 2008 financial crash are also in the sights of big business, as are restrictions which protect the welfare of farm animals or protection for consumers’ data online.

TTIP is less of a negotiation about trade and more of a full frontal attack on society by transnational corporations wishing to impose their will on people both sides of the Atlantic.

[Rosalie4u]

I was listening to a radio talk show and they were talking about the "12 Pacific Rim Countries" that would become a "World Government" if they pass this legislation.  That caught my ear.  Hmmmm

 

They also brought out that it might be that a certain country that the US owes a lot of debt to may be forcing this and that it may be why they are trying to pass this.  Hmmm

[Toy Poodles]

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is still kicking, with a negotiating round scheduled for July 13-17 in Brussels, the European Commission announced this week.

The key sticking point remains the so-called investor state dispute settlement mechanism, an ad-hoc court system that critics say gives corporations too much power in disputes with states.

 

http://www.politico.eu/article/ttip-trade-brussels-eu-us-malmstrom/

 

From what I have been reading, Monsanto, Dow, Bayer and other big Corporations are behind this. They want to also sell their GMO crops saying that they bring bigger yields and their plants can resist the pesticide that is used to kill off Weeds. Europe has had a ban on GMO products for some time but this deal would change all that. Also the GMO companies are trying to persuade Africa to use their seeds and pesticides. 

The other controversy in this TTIP deal is that the big Corporations are allowed to sue Country States if they in anyway come between the Corporations and their Profit.

Sounds ridiculous but it is the facts that have been stated on many news sites around the world.  

Monsanto is the biggest leader in this. Monsanto was the leader in distributing Agent Orange then DDT then PCB's and also the bovine hormone that is injected into cows to make more milk. 

Every thing that Monsanto is behind is poison to people. Agent Orange is still a problem in Vietnam where many people have disabilities either directly or from birth defects. DDT was banned in the 70's because of its poisonous nature. PCB's are everywhere and there is a lawsuit in Alabama where the people there have some of the highest PCB's in their body due to Monsanto. The bovine hormone is in most milk that is commercially sold and has been proven to cause problem with the cows and with other mammals including humans. 

Now we have GMO crops that were passed through congress without any thorough testing being done because Monsanto's people are in Congress and it is a back and forth with employees working for Monsanto and then the government or vice a versa. Monsanto was streamlined in and now Monsanto has people working everywhere at all levels of the government. 

The GMO have not shown to have higher yields but what it has accomplished is super weeds that are now able to resist their roundup spray.  

The GMO foods are starting to just now show to be a problem with people with weight gain and sickness. There seems no way to stop Monsanto because they own 95% or more of the seeds in the US and many other countries too. 

Monsanto is also part of Big Pharma now because when people get sick then that is big business so there is no incentive to stop Monsanto. 

The only way out of this mess is Jehovah's Kingdom. It has gone too far for mankind to be able to even try to fix this mess!

 

PCB's:   http://www.chemicalindustryarchives.org/dirtysecrets/annistonindepth/toxicity.asp

PCB's and Alabama:  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/21/business/700-million-settlement-in-alabama-pcb-lawsuit.html

Disabilities in Vietnam due to Agent Orange: http://www.agentorangerecord.com/impact_on_vietnam/health/disabilities1/

Monsanto and Big Pharma: http://www.thelibertybeacon.com/2013/08/30/monsanto-gmos-big-pharma-and-the-government-theyre-killing-us-11650/

Monsanto's website: http://www.monsanto.com/whoweare/pages/monsanto-relationships-pfizer-solutia.aspx

Monsanto and the Government:http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/monsanto-controls-government-chris-parker-135253110.html

[Dash21]

My understanding is that it is Jehovah that will put it into the minds of the nations, to destroy Babylon the Great.

 

 ...rather than world events.

 

If the cry of "peace and security" that took place in 1986 and 87, does not turn out to be the final cry, than one is still ahead.  But 'sudden', in Jehovah's eyes, may be a considerably longer period, than it is in a human's.

 

But supersized trade agreements have not always appeared to fulfill their promise of prosperity, in the past.  This one sounds appealing, in some ways, but seriously troubling, in others. 

[LeslieDean]

I did not understand Deena to say any differently.  I understood her to say that it is only Jehovah that can rectify all the wrongs brought about by man. 

[Toy Poodles]

My understanding is that it is Jehovah that will put it into the minds of the nations, to destroy Babylon the Great.

 

 ...rather than world events.

 

If the cry of "peace and security" that took place in 1986 and 87, does not turn out to be the final cry, than one is still ahead.  But 'sudden', in Jehovah's eyes, may be a considerably longer period, than it is in a human's.

 

But supersized trade agreements have not always appeared to fulfill their promise of prosperity, in the past.  This one sounds appealing, in some ways, but seriously troubling, in others. 

 

No I am not saying that mankind will bring about Peace and Security. I know Jehovah is pulling the hooks to bring about His righteous war but in my mind, people all over the world need to be more united with their thinking to accept the fall of Babylon the Great and to be in agreement with the war on religion. 

I am looking at how this TTIP is going together even with so much controversy and with many people against it, it is still going full steam ahead.

It seems like this may be a start for a more globalized "thinking". 

Here is just a part of the agreement with Brazil and the US: 

• Human Rights and Social Inclusion:  The United States and Brazil are establishing a Global Human Rights Working Group under the auspices of our Global Partnership Dialogue to enhance collaboration on human rights issues in multilateral fora.  In addition to ongoing efforts to fight racial and ethnic discrimination and advance gender equality, the United States and Brazil will work together at the United Nations Human Rights Council to promote the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender persons, and pursue cooperation on defending freedom of expression and advocating for citizens with disabilities. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/06/30/fact-sheet-united-states-and-brazil-mature-and-multi-faceted-partnership

 

I am sure the agreements with Brazil are the same with Europe and other countries that the US is making agreements with. 

It just seem that the countries are becoming more united in their thinking and their agreements. I think TTIP may catapult this united thinking forward.

[Toy Poodles]

Today on July 8th, 2015 the european parliament voted on TTIP. In June they did not succeed in voting and it had been rescheduled for today. The vote went through for TTIP but with some serious concerns about corporations suing governments. 

I pasted 2 different viewpoints of the decision and the links. 

8 July 2015 - 12:45pm

PRESS RELEASE

Strasbourg 8 July

Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) today voted to pass a resolution on the secretly negotiated EU-US trade deal, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

The vote, which passed by 436 to 241, highlighted serious splits in the European Parliament (EP) on the issue, especially among the Socialist and Democrat (S&D) bloc which includes Labour MEPs.

There was uproar from some MEPs in today's vote, including among members of EP president Martin Schulz's own S&D bloc, at what they perceived to be manipulation of voting procedures to ensure no anti-'ISDS' (investor-state dispute settlement) amendment would be voted on.

The vote took place at the second time of asking: it was originally scheduled to take place in June, but was controversially postponed at the last minute at the request of Schulz, due to fears that the vote would be lost.

War on Want Executive Director John Hilary said: “More than 2.3 million people across Europe are  calling for an end to TTIP negotiations in the biggest trade campaign we've seen to date. Yet MEPs have chosen to ignore the wishes of their own constituents, siding instead with the business lobby against the people of Europe.

“TTIP offers a nightmare vision of a world sold into corporate slavery. If our elected representatives betray us by backing this vision, we will have no choice but to escalate the campaign.”

Ahead of the vote, there was political wrangling and deal-making over one of the most controversial elements of the deal, the corporate court system of ISDS which allows business to sue states for policies threatening future profits.

A debate held on Tuesday highlighted the divergences in the EP, with one MEP commenting that the choice in the vote was between the wishes of European people or vested corporate interests.

More than 2.3 million people have signed a European Citizens' Initiative calling for an immediate end to TTIP negotiations.

http://www.waronwant.org/media/divided-meps-pass-controversial-ttip-resolution

http://www.greenpeace.org/eu-unit/en/News/2015/EU-parliament-cooks-up-Euro-fudge-on-private-TTIP-courts/

 

Parliament's vote on the TTIP resolution

Brussels, 08 July 2015

“Today’s vote in Parliament establishes a strong and forward-looking political platform as we continue our TTIP negotiations. That’s my urgent task in the months ahead, and it’s clear from today’s vote that only an ambitious, comprehensive and balanced agreement which demonstrably delivers jobs and growth in Europe will obtain democratic backing. That is what I am seeking with our US partners.  

What today’s vote also signals is that the old system of investor-state dispute settlement should not and cannot be reproduced in TTIP – Parliament’s call today for a “new system” must be heard, and it will be. I presented to Parliament far-reaching reform ideas in May. I will now press ahead to flesh these out, and transform them into legal proposals, so that these further reforms can be incorporated into Europe’s proposals for TTIP.

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STATEMENT-15-5327_en.htm

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20150702IPR73645/html/TTIP-ease-access-to-US-market-protect-EU-standards-reform-dispute-settlement

[Dash21]

I did not understand Deena to say any differently.  I understood her to say that it is only Jehovah that can rectify all the wrongs brought about by man. 

@Leslie

 

I can't remember for sure, but I think I was responding to the overall collection of posts.  Sorry.

 

I find it intriguing to consider how Jehovah will intervene in world affairs.

 

I do not exclude world events as possibly fitting into that, but to consider the overall course of the world, and how Jehovah is a huge step above common human developments, is...'inspiring'.

 

That new trade agreement is a mixed bag, that has its...concerns.

 

I'm glad someone posted about it, I may not have given it attention. 

[Toy Poodles]

update of the talks going on from July 13-17, 2015

 

http://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2015/07/13/ttip-will-force-all-europeans-to-take-greece-s-medicine

 

This week’s 10th round of negotiations will see far-reaching talks on almost all aspects of TTIP, including further offers to open up services markets beyond the initial commitments leaked last year. Despite constant assurances from the UK government that public services are safe in TTIP, there is growing evidence that those guarantees are worthless. There will also be more talk over downgrading food safety standards, one of the key demands of US negotiators but a central reason for the European people’s rejection of TTIP. 

The greatest fallout came over the new powers that TTIP will grant US corporations to sue European governments for any policies causing future loss of profits, in a parallel judicial system available to them alone. Labour MEPs have come under intense pressure to say no to this investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, and they eventually agreed to vote against the whole TTIP package rather than accept its inclusion.  Sadly it was not enough to sway MEPs from other EU member states.

German MEPs from Labour's sister party, the SPD, have played a particularly dirty game throughout the proceedings. Having authored the original pro-TTIP resolution, they then cooked up a back-room deal with conservative and liberal MEPs to force it through with the new ISDS powers included, despite angry dissent from fellow social democrats in France, Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as Labour MEPs.

To add insult to injury, the German president of the Parliament, Martin Schulz, violated procedure in blocking the presentation of any amendments that would have rejected ISDS. Schulz had already been accused of abusing his position for his savage attack on the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras earlier in the month, when he publicly called for the removal of the Syriza government and its replacement by a technocratic administration that would impose the full European bailout conditions. If the Greek 'no' vote forced Schulz to eat humble pie, the pro-TTIP resolution was his revenge on the people of Europe.

Together with support from Italian, Spanish and Romanian social democrats, the Germans' TTIP resolution finally passed by a margin of 436 to 241. EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström tried to claim the result as a "strong and forward-looking political platform". In reality, with all EU institutions fast losing their legitimacy, it is a shaky foundation on which to build any future deal.

http://www.transatlanticbusiness.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/European-Business-Alliance-letter-10th-TTIP-negotiating-round.pdf

Dear Commissioner Malmström and Ambassador Froman,

Ahead of the tenth round of negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement that will take place in Brussels from 13-17 July 2015, the European Business Alliance for TTIP would like to call on EU and US negotiators to upscale the political momentum of the talks. It is essential to make truly substantive progress towards the conclusion of an ambitious TTIP agreement that will provide the conditions for jobs, investment and growth. Negotiations between the European Union and the United States have entered an important phase. Around half of the proposed chapters in the agreement now have consolidated texts. Meanwhile, the proposed agreement received a welcome boost in Europe in recent months under the new European Commission, which has implemented a “fresh start” for TTIP with increased transparency and civil engagement by the EU as its centrepiece. Additional impetus has been generated with the important approval in the US Congress of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The European Parliament this month also voted with a significant majority to endorse the proposed agreement, providing further democratic support and legitimacy to the TTIP negotiations. Nevertheless, other political priorities on both sides of the Atlantic risk drawing attention away from the critical end goal of a successful agreement that is comprehensive and ambitious in scope. Now marks a critical time for negotiators to redouble their efforts and confront head-on key issues within the agreement that are critical to its success. The European Union and the United States should also continue their broad engagement with citizens and stakeholders, and encourage similar efforts by national governments at the EU Member State-level. The European business community reiterates its strong support for a robust TTIP agreeement that will bring broad political, economic and geostrategic benefits to EU and US citizens. We stand ready and willing to continue our engagement with stakeholders at all levels on this issue. Yours Sincerely,

The Undersigned Members of the European Business Alliance for TTIP

 American Chamber of Commerce to the EU (AmCham EU)

 AmChams in Europe

 BUSINESSEUROPE

 EUROCHAMBRES

 European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT)

 European Services Forum (ESF)

 European Small Business Alliance (ESBA)

 Trans-Atlantic Business Council (TABC)

CC: Mr. Ignacio Garcia Bercero, Director, DG Trade, European Commission; EU Chief TTIP Negotiator

[Toy Poodles]

This is the second day on TTIP negotiations. Here is what I have found so far:

 

http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/04/20/newly-leaked-ttip-draft-reveals-far-reaching-assault-useu-democracy

 

"The Commission proposal introduces a system that puts every new environmental, health, and labor standard at European and member state level at risk. It creates a labyrinth of red tape for regulators, to be paid by the tax payer, that undermines their appetite to adopt legislation in the public interest," said Paul de Clerck of Friends of the Earth Europe in a press statement released Monday.

Regulatory cooperation refers to the "harmonization of regulatory frameworks between the E.U. and the U.S. once the TTIP negotiations are done," ostensibly to ensure such regulations do not pose barriers to trade, the Corporate Europe Observatory explainedearlier this month.

However, analysts have repeatedly warned that, euphemisms aside, "cooperation," in fact, allows corporate power to trample democratic protections, from labor to public health to climate regulations, while encouraging a race to the lowest possible standards.

The newest version of the regulatory cooperation chapter reveals that the European Commission is angling to impose even more barriers to regulations.

The chapter includes a "regulatory exchange" proposal, which will "force laws drafted by democratically-elected politicians through an extensive screening process," according to an analysis from CIEL.

 

This next website shows and explains what corporations are involved and which ones are hidden from the public.Too much info for me to post. so I just did part of the first page. 

 

http://corporateeurope.org/international-trade/2015/07/ttip-corporate-lobbying-paradise

• TTIP’s “regulatory cooperation” chapter would provide business groups with a series of tools to apply pressure on decision makers in Brussels and Washington as well as in EU capitals and US states to scare them away from adopting rules that would hurt business interests, often to the detriment of other groups in society. According to leaked EU proposals, corporate lobbyists would be offered new opportunities to “provide input” which “shall be taken into account” by policy-makers. New regulations would have to undergo an “impact assessment” with questions that are primarily tilted towards the interests of business, not citizens. Companies could also use EU-US exchange procedures to complain about an “envisaged or planned regulatory act”, and regulations under review. And they would be given an agenda-setting role in new transatlantic regulator-to-regulator bodies. (Read our more encompassing analysis of regulatory cooperation here or watch our video on the issue here.)

  On top of that, TTIP’s investment protection chapter would empower thousands of businesses on both sides of the Atlantic to legally attack decisions made by national parliaments, governments, and even courts if they undermine corporate profits. Around the world, companies are already using the so called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions to claim billions in compensation for perfectly legitimate government policies to protect health, the environment, and other public interests. Just the threat of such an expensive claim can be enough for policy-makers to abandon or water down a proposed or adopted law on public health and environmental protection. (See our analysis of the proposed investor rights in TTIP here or watch our video on the issue here.)

  Taken together, the excessive rights for foreign investors and proposals for regulatory cooperation will significantly expand business power over politics across the EU and the US. The measures would make it easier for business to roll back regulation and block new rules intended to prevent the food industry from marketing foodstuffs with toxic substances, laws trying to keep energy companies from destroying the climate, or regulations to combat pollution, financial instability and protect consumers. No wonder, powerful business lobby groups like BusinessEurope and the US Chamber of Commerce see regulatory cooperation in TTIP as a “potential game changer”, a “gift that keeps on giving”, which would essentially allow business lobbyists to “co-write regulation”, as they put it.

   

  This next website is about Greece and TTIP:  

  BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

  DG Trade: Directorate-General for Trade

  http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/07/14/greece-the-ttip-and-the-driving-force-behind-the-betrayal-of-the-greek-people/

  Who was the driving force behind Greece becoming part of the Euro Zone hiding Greece’s outstanding debt and walking away with a substantial profit? Goldman Sachs.  Who was instrumental in lining US senator’s pockets in order that “Fast Track”could be passed in order for the TPP and in turn the TTIP, a “secret document” without voters knowledge or approval, could be passed? Goldman Sachs.  The bankruptcy of Greece was planned long ago so that they would have no resistance when it came to to implement the TTIP agreements.

   

  Not only has Greece now lost their sovereignty and is expected to sell off all their assets, much as Ukraine is now doing under the Victoria Nuland led Oligarchs coup regime, but Greece will now automatically become part of the TTIP “free trade,” read sell out the whole of Europe to the Corporate Fascist Octopus Squid.

   

  I also pointed out that ” Such agreements have consequences that go way beyond the current debt crisis in Greece or even the route of pipelines. The nature of Democracy and Nation State Sovereignty is at stake. BRICS so far, is not part of these agreements, which is in line with Putin’s view of a multi-polar vision of the world as opposed to a uni-polar vision as advocated by Washington. “

   

  In the long term, Greece would be far better off leaving the EU, joining the Eurasian bloc and becoming part of the BRICS development bank. BRICS, so far as I know, has no intention of implementing TPP or TTIP agreements.

   

  Dublin Eileen from Max Keiser has also pointed out the trap that has been set for Greece in

    Greek Trojan Horse Hides TTIP Negotiation

   

   

  So for now it looks like we just may have 2 kings: EU/US vs BRICS
• 

  The preparatory and early phases of the TTIP negotiations were largely driven by businesses with headquarters in the US, Germany, and the UK and by industry lobby groups organised at the EU level such as BusinessEurope. For the period between January 2012 and February 2014, we did not come across a single direct lobby encounter on TTIP between DG Trade and businesses from Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, and most of Eastern Europe (Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia).

  This is in line with warnings that these countries will carry the weight of the social costs of TTIP as a result of the increased competition. With US export interests targeting mainly those sectors where the European periphery has defensive interests – such as agriculture – the opening up of the EU to more transatlantic competition is likely to exacerbate the divide between the EU’s economic core and its periphery, in other words: the EU’s richer and its poorer countries. It seems that businesses in the poorer EU countries have little to gain from TTIP and are therefore not pushing for the deal.

  Here you can see how many corporate actors lobbied DG Trade on TTIP in the period between January 2012 and February 2014, listing only the countries with more than 5 actors lobbying:

  Country of origin

  Total number of corporate actors

  EU-level business lobby groups

  115

  US companies & industry associations

  89

  German companies & industry associations

  28

  UK companies & industry associations

[Toy Poodles]

So far it doesn't sound like anyone knows exactly what is going on with TTIP because most of it has been kept hush-hush but I found a website that explains things a lot more simply. Even though the writer has his opinion he still gives a more balanced view that is easier to understand. 

 

http://www.cafebabel.co.uk/politics/article/the-hidden-side-of-ttip-with-philippe-lamberts.html

 

TTIP: Backed by the heads of large American and European businesses, it aims to combine the European and American markets, creating one huge transatlantic market.

The aim is to harmonise social, environmental, health, tax and democratic standards in response to pressure from businesses. ..... to increase their own profit margins, these businesses are urging the Member States to harmonise their standards and reduce them to watered-down versions.

....... the treaty's architectural framework is designed to establish a large market wherein the standards put in place by democracy will be all but sold off in an auction engineered by the multinationals, who will always be able to hold the signatory states to ransom over investment and employment.

United States' key demand - to open up the European market to a wide range of products that are currently banned or restricted, such as those sold by American agro-businesses (GMOs, hormone-treated beef, etc.). In fact, the real aim of this treaty is to allow anything and everything based purely on the logic of commercial gain, even if that means weakening our democratic standards and sacrificing social dialogue. 

ISDS:  It's a legal measure that enables companies to attack any public authority, from a state to a local municipality. In today's society, such matters can already be resolved at a traditional court. The difference is this: the TTIP framework will establish a special private court, known as an arbitral tribunal, composed of three judges who, more often than not, will be business lawyers. This gives rise to a rather unusual system in that it falls outside the general law system of any state....

Another particularly unsettling aspect is the system's one-way structure: only businesses are able to attack a state, not the other way around.