<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/faf1e836-7090-11e7-93ff-99f383b09ff9" style="color: purple; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" class="">https://www.ft.com/content/faf1e836-7090-11e7-93ff-99f383b09ff9</a><div class=""><br class=""><div class=""><h1 class="topper__headline" style="font-family: FinancierDisplayWeb, serif; font-size: 40px; line-height: 40px; -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; margin: 0px 0px 20px; font-weight: 400; color: rgb(51, 48, 46);"><span class="article-classifier__gap">Trade deals conducted in secret will be hijacked by corporate interests</span></h1></div><div class="">Sir, British and US officials began discussing plans for a future US-UK trade deal this week, without bothering to consult the population of either country on the goals for such talks. As representatives of civil society movements on both sides of the Atlantic, we reject secretive trade talks that keep elected representatives and the public in the dark. UK and US officials have no business trying to precook a post-Brexit trade deal years before such negotiations would be legal. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">It has become abundantly clear that trade deals crafted in secret will be hijacked by corporations to promote their narrow interests at the expense of public welfare. That was the lesson of the recent transatlantic and trans-Pacific trade agreements (TTIP and TPP) — both of which have been stopped thus far by movements of millions that spanned borders and sectors. Indeed, corporate lobbies are already seizing on the coming US-UK talks to push an agenda of financial deregulation, privatisation of public services, the undermining of workers’ rights and expansion of unaccountable trade tribunals that allow corporate polluters to sue governments over environmental and health protections they don’t like. </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">To prioritise the needs of people — not corporate profits — in both of our countries, any potential US-UK trade talks must be led by public input and take place in the light of day.
</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Paul Keenlyside </div><div class=""><i class="">Co-ordinator, Trade Justice Movement </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Dave Prentis </div><div class=""><i class=""> General Secretary, UNISON </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Len McCluskey </div><div class=""><i class=""> General Secretary, Unite </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Kevin Courtney </div><div class=""><i class=""> General Secretary, NUT </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Tim Roache </div><div class=""><i class=""> General Secretary, GMB </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Asad Rehman </div><div class=""><i class=""> Executive Director, War on Want </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Jean Blaylock </div><div class=""><i class=""> Policy Manager, Global Justice Now </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Dave Timms </div><div class=""><i class=""> Senior Political Campaigner, Friends of the Earth </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Arthur Stamoulis </div><div class=""><i class=""> Executive Director, Citizens Trade Campaign </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Mark Levinson </div><div class=""><i class=""> Chief Economist, Service Employees International Union </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Susan Grant </div><div class=""><i class=""> Director of Consumer Protection and Privacy, Consumer Federation of America </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Melinda St Louis </div><div class=""><i class=""> International Campaigns Director, Global Trade Watch, Public Citizen </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Ben Beachy </div><div class=""><i class=""> Director, Trade Program, Sierra Club </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Lisa Griffith </div><div class=""><i class=""> Interim Executive Director, National Family Farm Coalition </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Juliette Majot </div><div class=""><i class=""> Executive Director, Institute for Agriculture & Trade Policy </i></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> Jake Schmidt </div><div class=""><i class=""> Director, International Program, Natural Resources Defense Council </i></div><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div><div class=""><i class=""><br class=""></i></div></div></body></html>