TACD work in the area of Information Society aims to promote the recognition and improvement of consumer rights in the digital world. With consumers increasingly relying on the Internet for work, shopping and social life, it is more important than ever that the appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place to ensure their safety and privacy. …
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TACD’s work on intellectual property (IP) focuses on promoting a more balanced IP system in which the needs and rights of consumers are given equal consideration to those of rights holders. TACD promotes an IP system that effectively promotes innovation while maintaining access for users. Read TACD’s Policy Recommendations on Intellectual Property Read TACD’s Briefing …
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EU and US consumers say YES to collaboration and exchange of best practices, NO to obligations with negative impacts on consumer protection Today, TACD publishes a new policy resolution on Technical barriers to Trade (TBTs) in the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The resolution highlights differences between the US and EU technical regulations, conformity assessment and standards-making …
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EU and US consumers call for regulation and labeling of products derived from new genetic engineering techniques Today, TACD published a new resolution on consumer concerns about new genetic engineering techniques. Consumers have right to know when new genetic engineering techniques are used, including in their food, but companies are lobbying to exempt such products …
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Today, TACD releases a new policy resolution on better transatlantic cooperation on chemicals in light of the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The resolution offers recommendations to the negotiating parties on how to achieve better transatlantic cooperation in chemicals management, clearly emphasizing that a future TTIP agreement should under no circumstance act to delay or …
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Today, researchers of the University of Amsterdam’s Institute for Information Law (IViR) have published an independent study that clearly shows that the European Union (EU) does not sufficiently safeguard citizen’s personal data and privacy rights in its trade agreements. The study was commissioned by TACD, together with member organisations European Consumer Organisation BEUC, European Digital …
Read More →By Zoltan Massay-Kosubek The author, who is Policy Coordinator at the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) argues that trade liberalisation policy can both support public health goals and undermine them. The potential for economic growth and higher incomes enable wider access to healthier lifestyles, while increased availability of cheaper processed foods, tobacco and alcohol can promote further …
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More IP in Trade? No, thanks! Today, TACD releases a new policy resolution on the proposed Intellectual Property (IP) chapter in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). We believe that trade is not the place to negotiate intellectual property and therefore are of the view that the proposed TTIP should exclude any provisions related …
Read More →Today, the European Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) sent the so-called EU-US Privacy Shield back to the drawing board. Following a thorough assessment of the proposed new framework, the DPAs have come to the conclusion that, despite providing some improvements over the previous ‘Safe Harbour’ agreement, the proposed Privacy Shield as it stands raises substantial concerns …
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Scheme Fails to Protect Consumers’ Fundamental Rights to Privacy and Data Protection Following the 29 February 2016 release of the text of the “Privacy Shield” by the European Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce, we have adopted a new policy resolution on the proposed transatlantic data transfer agreement, meant to replace the invalidated Safe Harbour. …
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by Monique Goyens Regulatory cooperation might sound like a relatively benign and straightforward part of trade agreements. It is actually at the very core of TTIP, a trade deal being negotiated between the US and the EU which would be the world’s largest. By aligning regulations, standards, or merely exchanging data, the EU and US …
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Last November the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), a trade and investment agreement between the U.S. and 11 other countries of the Pacific Rim was published. Finally, there is a proxy for the U.S. position in the TTIP negotiations on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), i.e. the food safety and animal and plant health rules and …
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