Concerns about the consequences of free trade with the USA
The German Cultural Policy Association is following the negotiations on the planned transatlantic free trade and investment agreement (TTIP) between the EU and the USA with great attention and concern. The TTIP could have considerable negative consequences for cultural development in Germany and Europe, it writes.
The company is demanding that the cultural and audiovisual sectors be excluded from the negotiations. In Europe, culture is also a public good, the protection of which is mandated in Germany by the Basic Law, the state constitutions, the European treaties and, last but not least, a UNESCO convention.
The Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft is also opposed to the introduction of an investor-state dispute settlement procedure, including the possibility of recourse to private arbitration tribunals. Both the EU and the USA have some of the most highly developed judicial systems in the world.
The Kulturpolitische Gesellschaft is convinced that the fundamental importance and dimension of the social areas covered by the free trade agreement require maximum transparency with the substantial involvement of national politics and civil society. This means that the conduct of negotiations and voting on them should not only be in the hands of the EU. National parliaments should also have a say.
