The economic case for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has been made by its supporters. Free trade, more jobs, and a closer relationship between the United States and the European Union.
Europeans, never particularly excited about the secrecy of the negotiations, have now increased their opposition against the now infamous “secret” trade tribunals, which could cost European government billions. Just last weekend, thousands of people took to the streets in Europe to protest the free trade deal.
One of the issues is the so-called Investors-State Dispute Settlement System (ISDS)—commonly used under existing trade agreements—which allows individuals and corporations to sue governments in case of a possible breach of the agreement.
On this side of the Atlantic, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren has criticized the ISDS framework, saying it favors big corporations, rather than common workers. “Giving foreign corporations special rights to challenge our laws outside of our legal system would be a bad deal for America,” she writes on her blog.
Warren said it’s a problem that international tribunals, rather than national courts, have jurisdiction in trade disputes.
Historically, however, American companies have done well under this system.
The European press cites the example of U.S. oil company Occidental Petroleum suing the country of Ecuador because it denied it the right to look for oil. Occidental won $1.8 billion and now the whole of Europe is afraid of a wave of U.S. lawsuits.
