TTIP Action aggregates the latest news and best analysis from across the United States and European Union on the ongoing negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

Speeches & Official Announcements

House Ways and Means Committee Holds Hearing on President Obama’s Trade Policy Agenda with US Trade Representative Michael Froman
United States Trade Representative Michael Froman testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the Administration’s 2014 trade agenda this morning. TTIP, TPP, and progress towards trade promotion authority legislation featured prominently on the agenda. (More information)

To view his full testimony as prepared for delivery, click here.

Turning A Corner In Financial Services: Closing Remarks at The EUROFI High Level Seminar 2014
Michel Barnier, European commissioner for the Internal Market and Services highlighted that three challenges significant challenges remain on the global financial regulatory agenda: differences across the Atlantic in the substance of rules, differences between timing of the implementation of these rules, and differences in how these financial regulations interact. (Europa press release here)

News

Froman’s Senate Hearing Rescheduled for April 30
US Trade Representative Michael Froman was set to testify at the Senate Finance Committee this Thursday, but the hearing was rescheduled to April 30 for the purpose of considering the extension of a slew of expired tax provisions. This delay is at least partially attributable to the ongoing consultations of new Democratic Chairman Senator Ron Wyden with his party about the future of the trade promotion bill in the Senate. However, Ambassador Froman is still set to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday morning. (Politico)

China Courts EU On Bilateral Trade Agreement
Despite the European Union’s general reluctance on formally launching talks on a bilateral trade deal expressed during Chinese President Xi Jinping, the joint-statement coming out of the high-level discussions revealed that both sides showed a “willingness to envisage” to start negotiations on a free trade deal “once the conditions were right”. President Xi did however receive an official endorsement from the EU to join the multilateral Trade in Services Agreement, while the United States still opposes their entry. (Financial Times)

US Data Snooping Could Put Trade Deals In Limbo
Gulf News reports that that the United States will need to make big concessions on data privacy, if the European Parliament or Germany was going to ratify an TTIP agreement, according to the results of a new stakeholder survey by the Atlantic Council and the Bertelsmann Foundation. (Gulf News)

François Hollande’s Deficit Plea Sets Up Clash With Brussels
On Tuesday, after a disastrous municipal election for his Socialist Party, French President François Hollande made it clear that his government was going to pursue a long-term pro-growth strategy. and also announced a new set of tax-cut proposals that most likely ensures France will not make its 2015 deadline to meet the European Commission’s budget deficit target of 3% of GDP. (Financial Times)

Recent Analysis

TTIP: EU Commissioner Points Finger At US Secrecy, Investor-State Provisions
Monika Ermert writes for Intellectual Property Watch that EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht remains pragmatic in his approach to including an Investor-State Dispute Settlement mechanism in TTIP. While he still sees an ISDS mechanism an important feature of a trade and investment deal the size of TTIP, he is not completely opposed to excluding it completely if its inclusion endangered the entire agreement. (IP Watch)

The TTIP At The Forefront Of The 21st Century International Trade System?
Elvire Fabry of the Jacques Delors Institute argues that the European Union should push to ensure that regulatory convergence remains a high priority, because this is where most of the gains will come from in a completed agreement. Moreover, it would help ensure TTIP becomes an example for future international trade negotiations. (Jacques Delors Institute)

A New View of International Trade
A fresh take on the numbers suggests that the United States’ international trade position is much stronger than widely assumed. According to a new metric developed by a combined World Trade Organization-OECD initiative called “Trade in Value-Added” showed that in 2009 that the US added the most value to their goods before they were exported among all members of the OECD countries. (Deloitte University Press)

Upcoming Events

A Reception in Honor of the New TTIP Caucus on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 3 – Register here; RSVP required to attend.

The New Transatlantic Agenda: Trade, Investment and Partnership – Washington, DC, April 8 – Register here

International Financial Regulation in the Post-Crisis Era – Hosted by the Georgetown School of Law in collaboration with the Atlantic Council – Washington, DC, April 8 For more information and to register, click here.

Making Trade Work for America Featuring Senator Orrin Hatch – April 8, Washington, DC – Register here

Rep. Sander Levin on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and US Economic Competitiveness – April 9, Washington, DCMore information

Breakfast Debate – Investment Protection and Investor-State Dispute Settlement- Let’s look at the facts! – April 9, Brussels
– Register here

The Future of Transatlantic Trade – Hosted by the Washington Post and European Voice at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris, April 10More information

Dodd-Frank’s Missed Opportunity: A Road Map for a More Effective Regulatory Architecture – Washington, DC, April 10More information

A Transatlantic Pivot to Asia – Washington, DC, May 1 More information