Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A threat to UK education

The TTIP is a proposed trade deal which aims to remove trade barriers between the EU and the US; the deal would open public services to privatisation by US investors. It includes a mechanism which allows foreign companies to challenge government policies which reduce the value of their investments; this would make it difficult to regulate companies operating in our public services. UCU is calling for a cap on the expansion of for-profit post-compulsory education in the UK, and for a tough regulatory framework to be introduced for existing for-profit education providers.

However, the TTIP could be used by US companies to litigate against the introduction of tighter regulation for the private education sector, limiting the capacity of UK policy makers to implement or introduce regulations which promote the public interest.

Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) A threat to UK education, Mar 14 [67kb]