In October last year academics at Tufts, one of the US’s premier universities, published a detailed study on the economic effects of TTIP. Its stark conclusions seem to have shaken some unions out of their complacency.
The authors note that the studies used to support TTIP are “not a good basis for policy decisions as they rely heavily on unsuitable economic models”.
So instead they looked at TTIP using the United Nations Global Policy model, simulating the treaty’s impact on the global economy “in a context of protracted austerity and low growth in the EU and US”.
And the impact would be devastating. After a decade, Britain’s net exports would have declined by 0.95 per cent, GDP would have fallen, workers would have lost a total of €4,200 in income, and throughout the EU 600,000 jobs would have been lost. And all accompanied by a huge redistribution of wealth – from workers to capital – of 7 per cent.
On top of this, government income through taxation would decline, and financial instability would increase.
The report is freely available on the web. It should be compulsory reading for all those in trade union research departments, particularly at the TUC, which have been cheerleaders for TTIP and for free trade in general.
• See companion articles:
TTIP: a dagger aimed at Britain's soverereignty
TTIP: The extraordinary rendition of Britain
The holy freedoms of capitalism