Alert! EU-US Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

[marksimonbrown]

 ----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Patrick Mulvany <patrickmulvany at clara.co.uk>
To: ukfoodgroup at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, 16 February 2013, 8:47
Subject: [coordination-foodsovUK] Alert! EU-US Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement (FTA)

News BITs - UK action needed?

The proposed EU-US Free Trade Agreement will require harmonising European regulations with US fast food practices; forcing on European consumers, cloned meat, industrial livestock bloated with pesticide dependent GM grains, GM seeds and GM livestock producing GM-mush in ready meals. If the FTA is agreed, this food regime could be dumped by a more powerful US-EU trading bloc on African farmers and consumers who have different priorities, as described in their report facilitated through the europAfrica campaign with which UKFG works www.ukfg.org.uk/projects_campaigns/. The impacts of contrasting food regimes were raised in the CONCORD Food, Agriculture, Trade and Environment forum in December 2012, by Prof Philip McMichael from Cornell University - replayed at the Oxford Real Farming Conference at the UK Food Group session on Agricultural Investment  - www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzgHFzUJkj0 

Patrick

Alert! EU-US Transatlantic FTA - Call for mobilisation in Europe and the United States Presidents Obama, EU Council President Van Rompuy and EU Commission President Barroso committed on 13th Feb to start EU-US trade and investment negotiations, in the interests of transnational corporations and the financial industry.
www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?article22725

BITs that bite into budgets: will the EP let private lawyers decide?
Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) Public discussion of civil society with MEPs, Council & Commission - Tuesday, 26th February 2013, 10.00 - 12.00  Résidence Palace - International Press Centre, Brussels - The European Union has acquired exclusive competence to negotiate international investment agreements such as Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs).
www.s2bnetwork.org/themes/eu-investment-policy.html

IPRs on Seeds, in the EU-Canada Trade Treaty (in French) by Birgit Müller et Terry Boehm (NFU Canada, Via Campesina member) La propriété intellectuelle dans CETA appliquée aux semences