By Robin Emmott
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union is seeking to contain a new complaint that a trade deal with the United States would undermine Europe's protection against dangerous chemicals, eager to avoid another front of resistance to the world's biggest trade accord.
More than a year into negotiations, the European Commission, the EU executive, is engaged in a public relations battle to defend plans to deepen the transatlantic trading relationship and create a market of some 800 million people encompassing almost half the world's economy.
In a letter seen by Reuters, the EU's trade chief will tell environmental activists on Friday that a free-trade pact between the top two trading blocs will not expose Europeans to harmful chemicals or force the EU to change its laws.
Under EU rules, chemicals must be proved to be safe before they are used. In the United States, chemicals must be shown to be harmful to be banned.
Some European public safety and environmental groups say a trade deal with the United States would allow U.S. companies to import chemicals considered toxic or dangerous in Europe.
"A possible agreement would under no circumstances result in the lowering of existing EU environmental and health standards with regard to chemicals," EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht wrote, referring to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP, which is under negotiation.
"TTIP will have no chilling effect on the implementation of existing EU chemicals regulations," the letter said.
Negotiators conclude the seventh round of talks in Washington later on Friday and are hoping to clinch a deal next year. Many companies say it could bring major economic benefits and create jobs over the long term.
Part of the rationale behind an EU-U.S. free-trade deal, which could generate $100 billion a year for both the EU and the United States, is to make it easier for companies to do business by respecting each others' standards.
TOXIC RISK?
But the Commission says that when it comes to chemicals, EU and U.S. regulations on chemicals differ significantly, making so-called mutual recognition impossible.
Within the trade deal, the European Union aims only to better classify and label chemicals, share data on chemicals more effectively and protect confidential business information to make systems more efficient and cut bureaucracy and costs.
One group of campaigners, ClientEarth, said on its website this week that a leaked document from the trade negotiations signaled that the public's concerns were not being heeded.
"The European Union is giving the United States a chance to block any initiative to protect EU citizens and the environment from the risk of toxic chemicals," said Vito Buonsante, an advisor at ClientEarth, which specializes in environmental litigation and research.
Until now, much of the criticism of the EU-U.S. trade deal has focused on the pact's "Investor-State Dispute Settlement" clause that would allow companies to take cross-border legal action against governments if they breach the trade treaty.
Germany's Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel opposes the inclusion in trade deals of provisions to protect investors.
Unions say it gives multinationals too much power and could undermine laws on labor, the environment or food standards.
A public consultation on the issue in the European Union received an unprecedented 149,399 submissions and the Commision, which handles trade on behalf the EU's 28 countries, is expected to comment next month.
(Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
