Apr 19th, 2016
TTIP: Letter to Obama
By Samuel Read
Imagine President Obama picking up a newspaper when he arrives in London this Thursday and seeing an open letter addressed to him from British people. He won’t be expecting it, so it’s likely he’ll remember it. Together, we could make this happen.
Obama’s going to meet David Cameron and they’re sure to discuss TTIP, the trade deal that’s being negotiated between the EU and America. The deal reads like a wish list for big corporations. It could lower the quality of our food, stop us removing private companies from our NHS and allow big businesses to sue our government if they don’t like our laws.
Already, 140,000 of us have added our names to an open letter addressed to Obama, asking him to stop negotiating TTIP. But now we need to make sure he sees it!
If thousands of us chip in before 21 April, we can buy full page adverts in major UK newspapers for Thursday, when he arrives. It won’t be cheap, it will cost at least £60,000, but it’ll be so unexpected it’s sure to stay on his mind as he discusses the deal with politicians. Please will you chip in to get our message to Obama?
Obama’s visit could be make or break for TTIP. Politicians and big companies think they’ve got a better chance of getting the TTIP deal agreed while he’s still President. If we can stop Obama signing the deal before he leaves office later this year, it could mean the end of this dodgy deal for good.
Campaigners, including hundreds of thousands of 38 Degrees members, have brought this dodgy trade deal out of the shadows. And together our huge wave of people power has put delays and roadblocks at every step of the way as politicians try to rush this deal through. If we can delay it enough, the whole deal could collapse – so let’s make sure while Obama is in the UK he hears us loud and clear.
PS: If you haven’t already you can add your name to the open letter by clicking the link below:
Here’s what the letter says:
Dear President Obama,
Welcome to Britain. While you’re here, you’ll see the parts of our country that British people are most proud of. You’ll visit parliament, the home of our democracy, you’ll see the hospitals and ambulances of our NHS, and you’ll eat food produced by hard-working British farmers.
But you’ll also meet with our Prime Minister to discuss TTIP – the trade deal with America that could put all of this at risk.
British people believe that no trade deal should give corporations more power than people. There are better ways of working together. Please stop negotiations of the TTIP trade deal.
Yours sincerely,
