TTIP: ‘an assault on public protections’ – Alison Johnstone MSP
Questioning the Minister for Europe at Holyrood today, Green MSP Alison Johnstone called on the Scottish Government to broaden their stance on TTIP, the free trade treaty currently being negotiated between the US and the EU.
She highlighted figures contained in a new report from Westminster’s Environmental Audit Committee (1) on the difference between chemicals regulation in the US and EU. 1300 chemicals are restricted for use in cosmetics in EU countries, whereas only 11 are in the US.
The Minister, Humza Yousaf, replied that while the Scottish Government has raised a number of concerns with the UK Government, TTIP as a whole is “difficult to oppose without seeing the final agreement”.
Alison Johnstone, Green MSP said: “This deal risks much more than our precious public services. There is a real risk that important environmental and public health protections will be weakened by this treaty, which would undermine decades of political progress towards a more sustainable world.
“Overall the components of TTIP add up to an assault on public protections with little evidence of any reward, and it should not be so difficult for the Scottish Government to oppose this.”
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