Speeches and Official Announcements

The EU’s Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreements – Where Are We?
The European Commission released a memo today outlining the status of the EU’s various ongoing ilateral trade and investment agreements. First on the list: an upbeat overview of the TTIP negotiations.

News

Karel de Gucht: Frustrated and Outflanked | Financial Times
The uneasy settlement of the solar panel trade dispute between the EU and China keenly represents the many difficulties facing EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht as he attempts to unify the trade policy of 28 disparate and “sometimes wobbly” national governments

Recent Analysis

The Transatlantic Partnership: A Global Impact | La Vie éco
The world is showing clear signs of progress towards integration. Free trade agreements are being negotiated by various countries outside of the WTO as Doha has stalled multilateral progress. Of these agreements, TTIP promises to be by far the largest and most ambitious. Text in French.

German Government Expects Tough Transatlantic Negotiations | ÄrzteZeitung
Harmonizing pharmaceutical regulations promises to be one of the major barriers to successfully negotiating TTIP. To name just one key difference, it takes 2-3 years longer for new medical devices to be approved in the US as opposed to Europe. Negotiators will have to find the proper balance between product safety and the need for trade liberalization. Text in German.