The free trade agreement currently under negotiation between the EU and the U.S. threatens to lower standards of protection from toxic pesticides, according to a new report published last week by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). The study analysed a joint proposal from the American and European pesticide lobby groups CropLife America and European Crop Protection Association. The authors show how the pesticide industry is trying to use the ongoing Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations to reduce environmental standards in favor of looser pesticide regulations. If adopted, the proposal would increase the amount of pesticide residue on food sold to consumers in Europe; allow the use of carcinogens and other substances of high concern; and obstruct efforts to protect bees and other pollinators, the study suggests. “Using words like ‘harmonisation’ and ‘cooperation’ the pesticide industry’s proposal hides its true aim: to weaken, slow or stop efforts to protect people and the planet from exposure to toxic chemicals,” says the report’s co-author Erica Smith. The study contains a list of 82 toxic pesticides, which are currently banned in the EU but allowed to be used in the U.S., including carcinogens, endocrine (or hormone) disruptors, developmental toxins and other extremely hazardous substances. CIEL argues that the TTIP could lead to a reintroduction of these banned pesticides in the EU. In addition, the industry proposal recommends adopting the maximum levels of pesticide residues allowed on food to those permitted in the U.S., which in some cases are hundreds of times higher than those allowed in the EU, the study found. CIEL also warns that the proposal could interfere with current moratoriums by the EU and some U.S. local governments on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides associated with the worldwide decline in bee populations. (ab)