SUBMISSION OF CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, SIERRA CLUB AND CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE HEARING ON THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP: ACHIEVING THE POTENTIAL

This statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), submitted on behalf of itself, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, and Center for Biological Diversity, warns that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) could undermine public health and environmental protections, particularly regarding toxic chemicals. The document argues that the pursuit of 'regulatory coherence' through harmonization and mutual recognition may lower standards to a 'lowest-common denominator,' preempt sub-national laws, and create chilling effects on the development of safety regulations globally.

• The document argues that harmonization in trade agreements often results in a "lowest-common denominator" approach, which reduces public protection to favor private interests. It cites the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement as an example where U.S. automakers may meet fuel economy or greenhouse gas standards that are 19% more lenient than the relevant target level.
• There is a fundamental divergence between the EU's hazard-based approach to chemicals under the REACH Regulation and the U.S. risk-based approach under the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The EU approach identifies hazardous properties and encourages substitution with safer alternatives, while the U.S. approach requires complete risk assessments and exposure projections before regulatory action, which the document claims leaves the EPA "almost paralyzed."
• Mutual recognition agreements, which allow countries to accept each other's assessments, could lead to the erosion of national health and safety standards. In the chemicals sector, this could effectively erase restrictions that exist in only one jurisdiction, potentially allowing the sale of chemicals in the EU that are lawful in the U.S. but not vice versa.
• The inclusion of Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms would allow corporations to sue governments in private tribunals over policies that reduce expected profits. The document notes that over US $365 million has already been paid to foreign investors under NAFTA-style deals, and that such provisions create a "chilling effect" on the development of public interest regulations.
• TTIP may preempt protective laws at the sub-federal level in the U.S. and the national level in EU member states. The EU has expressed a desire that sub-regional and sub-federal regulations be covered by the agreement, which could undermine state-level initiatives in the U.S. (such as those in California, Maine, and Washington) or national moratoria on hydraulic fracturing in EU countries like France and Germany.
• The document warns that TTIP could influence the development of chemical laws outside the U.S. and EU, particularly in BRIICS countries. It suggests that the chemical industry views TTIP as a way to establish a global standard that decreases regulatory divergence, which could slow the adoption of more stringent REACH-like policies in other nations.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2013). SUBMISSION OF CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, SIERRA CLUB AND CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE HEARING ON THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP: ACHIEVING THE POTENTIAL. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/TTIP_Hearing_30Oct2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. SUBMISSION OF CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, SIERRA CLUB AND CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE HEARING ON THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP: ACHIEVING THE POTENTIAL. 2013. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/TTIP_Hearing_30Oct2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=SUBMISSION OF CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, SIERRA CLUB AND CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE HEARING ON THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP: ACHIEVING THE POTENTIAL |date=30 October 2013 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/TTIP_Hearing_30Oct2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2013submission, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{SUBMISSION OF CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW (CIEL) ON BEHALF OF CIEL, FRIENDS OF THE EARTH, SIERRA CLUB AND CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE HEARING ON THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP: ACHIEVING THE POTENTIAL}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2013}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/TTIP_Hearing_30Oct2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }