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Voices of Scotland Defending sovereignty from corporate rule

Neoliberal trade deals are a real and present threat to workers' rights, environmental protection, even food standards — and if we don't remain vigilant, big business will set up parallel legal systems that bypass our own, warns ARTHUR WEST

THE Trade Justice Scotland Coalition is a coalition of trade unions, campaigning organisations and local activists. The coalition came together in 2015 to campaign against trade deals that threatened to give new powers to big business while privatising public services and weakening the democratic rights of ordinary citizens.

One of the big successes of the coalition was stopping the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

It was a trade deal which was conducted behind closed doors between the European Union and the US.

Despite its name, TTIP was not about trading goods. TTIP threatened safety regulations, workers’ rights, environmental protection rules and food standards. It was essentially about opening up pubic services to privatisation and giving big business the right to sue governments which they deemed to be threatening their trade and profit.

One of the most worrying aspects of TTIP was that included a provision for corporate courts which is technically known as an Investor State Dispute Mechanism (ISDS).

These structures allow foreign companies to sue governments for passing regulations that they think will affect their profits, bypassing national justice systems and working through an international arbitration process.

Although TTIP was defeated in 2016 by an international campaign of opposition, it is important that organisations such as the Trade Justice Scotland Coalition do not relax and think our work is over.

We cannot be sure that trade deals agreed in the post-Brexit period will not include mechanisms such as corporate courts and provisions which undermine important public services.

At recent Trade Justice Coalition meetings we have been discussing issues which the organisation should take up in relation to the Scottish council elections scheduled for May 2022.

Local councils do not have a direct role in trade negotiations. However, in common with many members of the public, they are probably concerned about the reliability of the current Westminster government to negotiate trading arrangements which are in the best interests of the country in areas such as food and environmental standards.

The Scottish council elections give an opportunity to raise trade and related matters with candidates standing in these elections.

It is to the credit of the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities that they tried to influence the British government to make a Brexit deal which protected jobs and public services.

It seems to me that there is clear evidence that the government did not listen to the sensible and balanced advice they received and have ended up with an EU withdrawal deal which has caused disruptions and difficulties across of number of sectors of the economy.

The Trade Justice Scotland Coalition will therefore be making efforts to ensure that the council election campaign involves some discussion on how local authorities can respond to trade issues and other related matters.

Councils can play an important role in influencing politics at national and local level.

Therefore candidates in this year’s council  elections should be asked for their views on how local authorities can continue making the case to the British government that future trade deals should protect jobs, maintain employment rights and contain first class environmental and food standards.

As well as undertaking work around the council elections, the Coalition will continue to work for ethical and fair trade deals through public work and interaction with MPs and MSPs.

We will continue to argue for ethical trade policies and robust scrutiny of post-Brexit trade deals.

However, as well as being a campaigning organisation, the Coalition is also at the forefront of developing policies which should underpin how negotiations on trade deals are conducted.

The Coalition has produced a set of principles which call for trade deals to comply with the highest standards of human rights,labour standards, environmental standards and pay due attention to climate change issues.

 We use these principles to try and influence the trade-related policies of political parties and trade unions.

In a nutshell, the Trade Justice Scotland Coalition will redouble its efforts in 2022 to make a better world possible

Arthur West represents the Ayrshire Global Justice Now group and the Kilmarnock and Loudoun Trades Union Council on the Trade Justice Coalition Scotland.

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