Last week the NGO Greenpeace leaked 248 pages of documents on the EU-US trade deal talks. TTIP. This documentation confirms that the two economic powers have differences on issues such as public procurement and, most particularly, on the harmonisation legislation as cosmetics. It also exposes US pressures to lower European standards in health, environment and food regulation.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a proposal for a free trade agreement between the EU and the US that began to be negotiated in 2013. The agreement would, according to its promoters, reduce customs tariffs, and facilitate and enhance the business of European companies in the US and vice versa. At the same time, the draft treaty would seek to harmonise regulations in the EU and the US. seven specific economic sectorsThe following products and services are included: cosmetics, engineered products, new technologies, medical materials, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, textiles and vehicles.
As we discussed last year in an article, the Gabinete Técnico Farmacéutico M. Camps has come out strongly against harmonisation in cosmetics. There is a strong reason for our clear position on TTIP: while in the European Union the Annex II to the Regulation includes a list of 1,328 substances banned for the manufacture of cosmetics, in the US the list is only 11 ingredients. And that means that there are 1,317 potentially hazardous substances that would become ingredients in cosmetics on our market.
The latest information provided by Greenpeace have exposed the US delegation's position on some key points of the agreement to the public - the EU's position has been more public - and at the same time have had a negative impact on the negotiations process, which is now much closer to collapse. We believe it is good news that the European authorities continue to protect EU citizens, and that they have not given up on the cosmetics regulation, which, in case of harmonisation, would allow products with dangerous ingredients to enter our market.