European chemical association supports conclusion of TTIP agreement

Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, has joined a coalition of business stakeholders to underline its support for the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) in the face of recent allegations that an ambitious agreement would in any way undermine transparency, health or safety. Regardless of whether TTIP will be concluded before the end of the Obama administration, negotiations can and should continue for an ambitious outcome.

Rene van Sloten, executive director for industrial policy, Cefic, said, “When Cefic answered the Commission’s public consultation on TTIP, we insisted that chemicals management legislation on both sides should remain unchanged - harmonisation or mutual recognition are out of the question because the two chemical management systems in the USA and the EU are too different. What we saw instead were opportunities to cut red tape for companies and avoid duplication, open the way to global standards for classification and labelling and help regulators on both sides to work better together.”

He added, “Not only will TTIP promote greater choice for consumers, answering citizens’ demand for ever higher standards, but it can do so while respecting the different approaches on both sides. Claiming that TTIP would lower EU standards of chemical protection is a myth.”

The EU and the US currently make up around 40 percent of global economic output and their bilateral economic relationship is already the world’s largest. The two also make up 60 percent of global GDP amounting to over Euro 700 billion per year of goods and services traded. Chemicals are one of the top of all traded commodities.

Cefic and other business stakeholders see many efficiency gains that could boost the potential of these trade relations, especially given that the EU faces growth challenges with an aging population and increasing competition from Asia. TTIP would be particularly beneficial because 90 percent of EU and US companies implicated are small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The agreement would see greater access for such companies to new markets, which will be key for the EU to continue as a main player on the world stage.