The Observer - 04.08.2019

Section:OBS 2N PaGe:14 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 16:10 cYanmaGentaYellowbla

• The Observer
  14 04.08.19 News

Truss had private

talks in US with

libertarian groups

The MP, now UK trade

secretary, was keen to

explore Reaganomics

Michael Savage

Policy Editor

Liz Truss was

appointed trade

secretary last

week, and is in

charge of forging

a new trade deal

with the US.

The cabinet minister in charge of

negotiating a new US trade deal met

with a series of rightwing American

thinktanks to discuss deregulation

and the benefi ts of “Reaganomics”,

new documents have revealed.

Liz Truss, the international trade

secretary , had a number of meetings

with libertarian groups that have

championed parts of Donald Trump’s

deregulatory agenda and tax cuts.

New details of her three-day visit to

Washington last September have been

uncovered by Greenpeace’s investi-

gative journalism team, Unearthed.

Truss met senior representatives from

the Heritage Foundation , a thinktank

committed to shrinking the state and

cutting environmental regulation, to

discuss “regulatory reform”. Also at

the meeting was the Competitive

Enterprise Institute. Both groups

were part of the “shadow trade talks”

project, designed to advocate a wide-

ranging US trade deal allowing the

import of American goods currently

banned in Britain.

One briefing note reveals that

Truss was keen to hear “what we can

learn from ‘Reaganomics’ on things

like regulation and red tape”. Truss

also planned to tell the Heritage

Foundation that she is “committed

to”, and “personally interested in”,

exploring similar reforms in the UK.

“Reaganomics” is shorthand for the

policies of the former Republican US

president Ronald Reagan, based on

tax cuts and deregulation.

Truss has made no secret of her

interest in cutting the size of the

state. However, she is now in charge

of Britain’s post-Brexit trade deals

in a government committed to leav-

ing the EU with no deal if necessary.

Many fear a no-deal Brexit will pave

the way for a weakening of UK food

and environment protections. The US

agricultural sector has insisted that

any deal scraps restrictions on chlo-

rin ated chicken, hormone-treated

beef, and pesticide usage currently

circumscribed by the EU.

John Sauven , Greenpeace’s execu-

tive director, said: “There are wide-

spread concerns that Brexit will be

used to weaken our safeguards on

food safety and animal welfare, open-

ing the fl oodgates to products such as

chlorinated chicken and hormone-

treated beef. These concerns will only

grow at the discovery that the minis-

ter in charge of forging a trade deal

with the US fl ew to a libertarian boot

camp run by Donald Trump’s buddies

to be lectured about the supposed

benefi ts of ditching regulations.

“Boris Johnson promised that a

trade deal with the US would not

jeopardise our food and animal wel-

fare standards. People will be watch-

ing closely to see whether these words

mean anything at all.”

Truss also met the chief economist

of the American Legislative Exchange

Council (ALEC), which involved a dis-

cussion of the success of Trump’s

efforts to deregulate the US econ-

omy. ALEC has lobbied against action

on climate change, with companies

including Shell, BP and ExxonMobil

quitting involvement in it as a result.

Another document has revealed that

an offi cial from the Foreign Offi ce

wrote to another free-market think-

tank, R Street Institute , on Truss’s

behalf requesting a meeting to dis-

cuss “business deregulation”.

A government spokesperson said:

“We are committed to negotiating an

ambitious free-trade agreement with

the US. Without exception, imports

into the UK will meet our stringent

food safety and animal welfare stand-

ards. That’s not going to change.”

to stop plastic pollution. “It needs to

be a wardrobe staple.”

This summer sequins have been

everywhere, from the catwalk to the

TV screen. In last week’s Love Island

fi nale , two of the four female fi nalists

opted for sequin dresses. And sequins

have been seen in fi elds across the

country this summer, with o nline

fashion retailer PrettyLittleThing ’s

festival edit including sequins on

dresses, halter tops and bralettes. The

high street is also cashing in: at Zara,

bags and dresses sparkle.

On the catwalk, sequins featured

in spring/summer 2019 collections

from Alexa Chung and Ashish. Gucci

campaign star Harry Styles told Dazed

last week: “Just going on stage in a

nuts suit with a bunch of sequins

makes you want to play.”

But environmentalists warn con-

sumers not to be too dazzled by

sequins, which are often made of

PVC, until recycled and biodegrada-

ble options become more available.

“ I’ve had more interest from fash-

ion companies keen to reduce their

environmental impact,” says Rachel

Clowes, founder of the Sustainable

Sequin Company. “ The future can be

sustainable and sparkling.”

It’s a summer

of sparkle but

can sequins

be green’?

Leah Harper

Sequins, like dogs, are not just for

Christmas. The essential element of

festive dressing has jumped sea-

son this year to put the sparkle into

summer. But not everyone is happy

to see plastic making a comeback

just as the fashion industry is try-

ing to become more sustainable.

“I love a sparkly dress, but cov-

ering a dress in plastic cannot be

justifi ed if its worn once and dis-

carded,” says Natalie Fee, founder

of City to Sea , which campaigns

A trouser

suit from

Zara, one

of its many

sequinned

products.

for

tof

ea-

nto

py

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