On Thursday, April 24th, TradeJustice held a press conference at site of the 9th round of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which were held in Midtown Manhattan. At the press conference we read and distributed a new letter signed by 31 House Democrats who are critical of TTIP negotiations and newly leaked TTIP negotiating documents which suggest that the agreement's regulatory cooperation chapter will be an extreme attack on public interest.

While TPP is already well-known among activists in NYC, far fewer understand the looming threat of TPP's evil twin. TradeJustice used the talks as an opportunity to raise the profile of TTIP among local activists while sending a message to Europe that TTIP has opponents on both sides of the Atlantic.

On Saturday, April 18th, the International Day of Action Against TTIP, Carlos Cabeza, Wendy Scher (Global Justice for Animals and the Environment), and Pete Dolack (Systemic Disorder) leafleted the New York City Anarchist Book Fair to expose the threat of TTIP and promote our 4/24 press conference and street theater at the TTIP negotiations. Pete also held a workshop on TTIP at the fair. Adam Weissman (Global Justice for Animals and the Environment) joined him, explaining the many opportunities for action in the coming week and beyond. Adam also spoke briefly on TTIP at the Film Festival that concluded the book fair.

On Sunday, April 19th, Brenda Sanders (Open the Cages Alliance) coordinated a protest art-making and education activity on TTIP at the annual Earth Day Fair in Union Square. Brenda made protest signs in the shape of bees to highlight the threat to bee survival posed by neonicotonoid pesticides that could be allowed as a result of deregulation under TTIP. She invited fairgoers to add their owns anti-TTIP messages to the signs. To draw attention to the activity, Elliot Crown dressed as a business tycoon devouring the Earth. As the day progressed, Earth Day New York veteran and longtime TradeJustice ally Betta Broad, arranged for TradeJustice to have a booth where we could distribute literature about TPP and TTIP's threat to the planet.

On Wednesday, April 22nd, Adam Weissman addressed the TTIP talks on four radio programs The WBAI Morning Show with Mimi Rosenberg (WBAI 99.5 FM), Connect the Dots with Alison Rose Levy (Progressive Radio Network), Event Horizons with Robin Falkov, and Behind the News: The World with Nellie Bailey.

On Thursday, April 23rd, the TTIP negotiations held a Stakeholders' Forum, an event where the public is invited to make short presentations to TTIP negotiators. Activsts widely regard these events as liitle more than a cynical attempt to paint TTIP negotiation as open to public input, when just the opposite is true. Nevertheless, we participate so that TTIP proponents cannot claim that opponents have made no effort to share their views with negotiators. TradeJustice activists Brenda Sanders, Eugene Lerner, Anthony Rogers-Wright (Environmental Action), Ana Maria Quispe-Piscoya (Global Justice for Animals and the Environment), and Susan Metz (Park Slope Food Coop International Trade Education Squad) spoke on how TTIP treatens animal protection, labor rights, the environment, communities of color, food safety, and consumer information. At the end of the Stakeholders' Forum, these activists joined other Stakeholders Forum presenters who were critical of TTIP including Sean Flynn (American University Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property) and Sharon Anglin Treat (National Caucus of Environmental Legislators) and other TradeJustice activists for a brief press conference and photo opp. Other speakers included Michael Tikili (Health Global Access Project) and Adam Weissman. Wendy Goetz supported the press conference offsite by making calls to the press. Media outlets at the conference included WBAI 99.5 FM and Sirus Radio.

Media Kit

Photos from TTIP Outreach and Sign Making at the Earth Day Fair

Photos of the Press Conference

Media Coverage

Videos

Additional Info on TTIP