Toxic Partnership Revealed

A policy brief by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzing a leaked 'chemicals annex' from the European Commission regarding the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The document argues that the proposed regulatory cooperation favors chemical industry interests over public health and environmental protections, potentially freezing the implementation of stronger laws and erasing the more protective standards currently found in the EU.

• A leaked 'chemicals annex' from the European Commission suggests that TTIP negotiations are aligned with the chemical industry's goal of minimizing regulatory differences between the US and the EU, prioritizing business interests over health and environmental protections.
• Over 110 public health and environmental organizations argue that TTIP could freeze the development of health-protective laws by creating procedural hurdles and requiring time-consuming analyses of costs to transatlantic trade rather than societal benefits.
• The US government, via the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), has opposed EU controls on nanomaterials and endocrine (hormone) disrupting chemicals, viewing them as trade barriers and claiming EU regulations like REACH are discriminatory.
• TTIP proposals may block the ability of US states and EU Member States to implement stronger chemical regulations, effectively preempting sub-federal innovation in the face of federal or Commission inaction.
• Industry proposals within TTIP to implement stricter standards for confidential business information (CBI) and data protection could limit public and regulator access to information on toxic chemicals, which is necessary for innovation and safety.
• The application of harmonization or mutual recognition under TTIP could erase the higher protection levels of EU law, potentially resulting in a 'lowest-common denominator' approach to chemical safety.
• The document asserts that TTIP's proposed chemical cooperation is redundant, as similar work is already conducted by the OECD and through existing agreements between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA).

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2014). Toxic Partnership Revealed. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TTIP_Leaked_29Sep2014.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Toxic Partnership Revealed. 2014. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TTIP_Leaked_29Sep2014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Toxic Partnership Revealed |date=September 2014 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TTIP_Leaked_29Sep2014.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2014toxic, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Toxic Partnership Revealed}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2014}, month = sep, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/TTIP_Leaked_29Sep2014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }