The Center for International Environmental Law says the proposed U.S.-EU trade agreement “would reduce protection compared to the more stringent pesticide standards already in place in the EU and in individual U.S. states,” says the Guardian. CIEL says the approach proposed by industry for the free-trade pact would allow the use of 82 pesticides now banned in Europe. Trade groups for pesticide makers say the policy would help eliminate or reduce barriers and encourage regulatory cooperation, says the Guardian. “(T)he industry proposal recommends that the maximum levels of pesticide residues allowed on food conform to those permitted in the United States,” it says. “In some cases, these levels are hundreds of times higher than those currently allowed in the EU, according to the report.”
“Because the negotiations are secret, it’s unclear if this proposal is being considered by the TTIP negotiators,” said the Guardian. “Neither the US trade representative’s office nor the European Commission responded to a question about whether it was being discussed.”