Former Attorney General gives evidence to EU/US trade deal inquiry
27 February 2014
The House of Lords Committee investigating the prospective trade deal between the EU and the US will this week take a close look at the benefits and risks of including foreign investment protection provisions in the agreement.
- Parliament TV: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
- Inquiry : Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
- EU Sub-Committee C - External Affairs
Witnesses
Thursday 27th February 2014, Committee Room 3, Palace of Westminster
At 9.30am
- Dr Lauge Poulsen, Research Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, and a Senior Research Fellow at University of London, SOAS; and
- The Rt Hon. the Lord Goldsmith QC
At 10.30am
- Owen Tudor, Head of European Union and International Relations, TUC; and
- Bert Schouwenburg, International Officer, GMB
Possible questions
The Committee is holding an inquiry to look at the benefits and risks, both to the EU and the UK, of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which was launched last year. This week it is exploring the issues around the inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement provisions (ISDS) within an agreement. The Committee will also explore, with the witnesses from the TUC and GMB, how the agreement might affect jobs and labour standards.
- What are the benefits and risks of including an ISDS mechanism within TTIP?
- Is an ISDS mechanism between two developed economies with robust legal systems an anomaly, as has been suggested in written evidence?
- To what extent have UK investors taken advantage of the ISDS mechanisms in existing UK and EU investment treaties?
- What might be the risks to the UK of including ISDS provisions in TTIP? Could they interfere with the Government’s ability to formulate public policy?
- What lies behind concerns that the TTIP might lead to jobs being sent offshore?
- What impact might a TTIP agreement have on labour standards in the US and EU?