Done up like a kipper!
If the recent revelation by The Independent of the leak of hundreds of documents related to the highly-secret and controversial Transatlantic Trade an Investment Partnership (‘TTIP’) being negotiated between the EU and the United States of America is not a potentially decisive game-changer for the Brexit camp as regards the United Kingdom’s EU Referendum on 23rd June then either I’m a banana or else those conducting the ‘Leave’ campaign are even more thick and inept than I thought they were;
See here – THE INDEPENDENT
If the descriptions of what the proposed deal contains come to pass when and if final agreement is reached, it constitutes a devastating indictment for both the EU and the United States, not least President Obama who not much more than a week ago made such a point of warning the UK not to quit the EU.
It is hardly surprising that he didn’t, when you read the advantageous terms that the Yanks seem to have forced the EU to accept!
e.g.
(1)
The EU is having to tear up the protection regulations on the environment, consumer rights (and others) that it currently imposes upon its own member nations and citizens and allow US companies to abide by lesser ones;
(2)
Furthermore, if the EU makes further changes to such regulations, it will have to inform US companies affected in advance and also allow them equal lobby rights to the EU legislative process as any EU companies might have;
So … er … let’s get this straight.
If the agreement ever gets pushed through by our esteemed faceless EU powerbrokers, USA companies will have then access to the much-fabled European market of 500 million people on very advantageous terms without having to EITHER contributing to the EU budget like almost everyone else who ever negotiates a deal with the EU, OR indeed accept the ‘free movement of people’ principle we keep hearing so much about, not least because it was something that Norway (one of the oft-quoted examples of a country outside the EU with a trade deal such as the UK – post a Brexit – might seek to obtain for itself) has apparently had to accept it if it wanted a trade deal with the EU.
And there’s the issue of Obama lecturing UK voters that of behalf of the USA he wants Britain to remain in the EU.
Of course he does!
Why? Because if the UK was outside the EU then the USA wouldn’t be able to impose all the draconian TTIP terms, including those giving access US companies access to bid for all sorts of UK private and governmental contracts, upon the UK … that’s why!
Silly me. I thought Obama was just operating in line within the great traditions of the supposed Anglo-US ‘Special Relationship’ and giving the US’s oldest friend and ally the benefit of his sincere and heartfelt advice.
It never occurred to me that he was simply trying to bulldozer us into something that would be purely and exclusively in the interests of the USA …
