Reply to the European Commission’s Public Consultation on Investment Protection and Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP)
On March 27, 2014 the European Commission launched public consultations on the investment chapter of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a trade and investment agreement under negotiation between the European Union (EU) and the United States.
The first negotiation round took place in July 2013, and the European Commission is targeting mid-2015 as the date for the conclusion of the TTIP. In response to the increased public interest in the TTIP and criticism surrounding the secrecy of the negotiations as well as the content of the investment chapter, particularly the envisaged inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS), the EU decided to conduct a 90-day public consultation process on 12 main questions related to investment protection standards and ISDS. Comments can be submitted via an online questionnaire until July 6, 2014. In this context, the European Commission also held a stakeholder meeting with business and non-business participants in May 2014.
The attached report by IISD replies to the European Commission’s questions and statements related to the TTIP public consultation. The report seeks to inform the general public as well as European institutions about the legal implications of the proposed investment chapter text.
You might also be interested in
Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability: A landmark pact for trade and sustainability
The ACCTS pact, signed by Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand, and Switzerland, aligns trade and environmental policies, tackling fossil fuel subsidies, eco-labels, and green trade.
Why the Energy Charter Treaty Modernization Doesn't Deliver for Climate
The Energy Charter Conference adopted the "modernized" Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) on December 3, 2024. IISD's Lukas Schaugg explains what the modernization does, when it will enter into force, its tension with EU law, and why the reformed ECT can still hinder climate policies.
Addressing Carbon Leakage: A toolkit
As countries adopt ambitious climate policies, this toolkit examines strategies to prevent carbon leakage—when production and emissions shift to nations with weaker climate policies—and explores the trade-offs of each approach.
IISD Trade and Sustainability Review, December 2024
This edition of the IISD Trade and Sustainability Review presents four expert perspectives on how agricultural support and subsidies can promote sustainability in developing and least developed countries.