STATEMENT OF CARROLL MUFFETT PRESIDENT AND CEO CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AND SIERRA CLUB BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE SUB-COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MANUFACTURING AND TRADE HEARING ON THE U.S. – E.U. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: TIPPING OVER THE REGULATORY BARRIERS

Carroll Muffett, President and CEO of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), provided testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives on July 24, 2013, regarding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Representing CIEL, Friends of the Earth, and the Sierra Club, Muffett argued that the agreement's focus on reducing regulatory barriers could undermine public health and environmental protections, particularly in the chemicals sector, by favoring industry interests over safety standards.

• The current chemical regulation system is inadequate for the modern economy, evidenced by rising cancer rates and increased chemical concentrations in human bodies. The author asserts that public health is a core government responsibility that is not being adequately addressed regarding chemicals.
• There is a fundamental divergence between U.S. and EU chemical management: the EU uses a hazard-based approach under the REACH Regulation (adopted in 2006), while the U.S. relies on a risk-based approach under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The author argues the U.S. risk-based approach is ineffective because it requires complete risk assessments before regulatory action, often leaving the EPA "almost paralyzed."
• Harmonization under TTIP risks creating a "lowest-common denominator" standard that decreases public protection. The author notes that the European Commission has acknowledged that "US requirements [for chemicals] are less strict" and that full harmonization or mutual recognition may not be feasible given existing frameworks.
• Mutual recognition agreements in the chemicals sector are deemed inappropriate because they could erase restrictions that exist in only one jurisdiction. For example, the EU has banned 1,328 chemicals from cosmetics as of January 2003, while the U.S. FDA has banned or restricted only eleven.
• Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms allow corporations to bypass domestic courts and sue governments in private tribunals over policies that reduce expected profits. The author cites NAFTA as an example where over US $365 million has been paid to foreign investors, including cases attacking health and safety measures.
• TTIP could preempt protective regulations at the sub-federal level in the U.S. and the national level in EU member states. The author highlights that over 30 U.S. states have enacted their own chemical protections due to federal failure, and several EU countries (including France, Germany, and Spain) have placed moratoria on hydraulic fracturing ('fracking').
• The agreement may exert a "chilling effect" on the development of chemical laws in other regions, particularly the BRIICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, South Africa). The author notes that the chemical industry views TTIP as an opportunity to set a global standard that could slow the adoption of more stringent REACH-like policies elsewhere.
• The author criticizes the lack of transparency in U.S. trade negotiations, describing the process as inconsistent with the principles of a constitutional democracy and calling for broad public access to negotiating documents.

APA

Muffett, C. (2013). STATEMENT OF CARROLL MUFFETT PRESIDENT AND CEO CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AND SIERRA CLUB BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE SUB-COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MANUFACTURING AND TRADE HEARING ON THE U.S. – E.U. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: TIPPING OVER THE REGULATORY BARRIERS. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Muffett_Statement_24July2013.pdf

Chicago

Muffett, Carroll. STATEMENT OF CARROLL MUFFETT PRESIDENT AND CEO CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AND SIERRA CLUB BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE SUB-COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MANUFACTURING AND TRADE HEARING ON THE U.S. – E.U. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: TIPPING OVER THE REGULATORY BARRIERS. Center for International Environmental Law, 2013. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Muffett_Statement_24July2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Muffett |first1=Carroll |title=STATEMENT OF CARROLL MUFFETT PRESIDENT AND CEO CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AND SIERRA CLUB BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE SUB-COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MANUFACTURING AND TRADE HEARING ON THE U.S. – E.U. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: TIPPING OVER THE REGULATORY BARRIERS |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=24 July 2013 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Muffett_Statement_24July2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{muffett2013statement, author = {Muffett, Carroll}, title = {{STATEMENT OF CARROLL MUFFETT PRESIDENT AND CEO CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH AND SIERRA CLUB BEFORE THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE SUB-COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, MANUFACTURING AND TRADE HEARING ON THE U.S. – E.U. FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: TIPPING OVER THE REGULATORY BARRIERS}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Muffett_Statement_24July2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }