Podcast: Professor Clive George talks about TTIP
Professor Clive George, the author of the book ‘The Truth About Trade’ talks about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership which is a series of trade negotiations that are being carried out the European Union and the United States. Many of these negotiations are being carried out in secret and they have sparked some controversy about their nature and outcomes.
As a trade agreement, TTIP is about reducing the regulatory barriers to trade for big business and covers areas like food safety law, environmental legislation, banking regulations and the sovereign powers of individual nations. In an age where companies are starting to sue countries for loss of profit, these negotiations should be thought about deeply. For example Bayer has sued the European Commission to attempt to overturn a ban on the pesticides they produce that are killing millions of bees.
Supporters suggest the agreement would result in multilateral economic growth, but Professor George has some interesting views on what profits come of it and whether it is profitable to the countries at all.
Critics suggest it will increase corporate power making it more difficult for governments to regulate markets for public benefit. The United States government portrays the TTIP agreement a companion to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Here you can listen to him talk at University of Manchester Policy day 2014, where a number of people were invited to talk about the dimensions and implications of TTIP.
Professor Clive George is Visiting Senior Fellow, School of Environment and Development, University of Manchester and a retired Senior Research Fellow. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in Physics and holds a Master’s degree in Environmental Assessment from the University of Liverpool.
He has gained extensive international experience in the areas of environmental assessment in developing and transitional countries, regulatory impact assessment, sustainability impact assessment of trade policy and agreements, and assessment of national sustainable development strategies.
His publications include The Truth About Trade, (Zed Books, 2010), Environment and the City (with J. Ravetz, J. Howe and P. Roberts, Routledge, 2009) and Impact Assessment and Sustainable Development: European Practice and Experience (with C. Kirkpatrick, Edward Elgar, 2007).”