State of Play of TTIP Negotiations after the 6th Round
This European Commission documents highlights the major progress made and outstanding issues resulting from the recent round of negotiations completed last week in Brussels. The state of play covers all the major issues, including market access, regulatory cooperation, and sectoral approaches being considered by negotiators. (European Commission)
Speeches and Official Announcements
US Trade Representative Michael Froman delivered remarks at a recent Brookings Institution conference on the opportunities for trade and investment to assist international development efforts in advance of the upcoming US-Africa Leaders’ Summit happening in Washington over the next week. (USTR)
Members Raise Concerns over Agriculture Market Access in TPP
The House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, in conjunction with Ranking Member Charles Rangel and 138 other members of Congress have recently written a letter to President Obama expressing their concern about ensuring reciprocal agricultural market access in the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations with Japan. (Ways and Means)
News
Deutsche Bank Says ECB May Take Tougher Supervision Role
Deutsche Bank, Europe’s largest investment bank, is concerned about the economic effects of more-stringent oversight from the European Central Bank as the ECB takes on direct supervision later this year. The ECB is planning to use its asset-review findings to conduct stress tests on about 120 banks, and market watchers should closely monitor their results. (Bloomberg)
Eurozone Inflation Falls to Fresh Low of 0.4%
Eurozone inflation has fallen to its lowest level in four and a half years, as inflation in the area fell by an additional 0.1% in the last month. Inflation has not been this low since the height of the crisis in late 2009; however, Eurozone unemployment also decreased slightly. (Financial Times)
US Economy Roars Back with 4% Growth in the Second Quarter
The US economy has bounced back with an annualized growth of 4% in the second quarter of this year. Earlier concerns about performance in the first quarter have been assuaged, and the recovery seems to be back on track. Furthermore, recent data suggests that the economy is strong enough to continue to decrease unemployment. (Financial Times)
Juncker Mulls New Financial Services Czar Role
Incoming European Commission President Juncker is contemplating the need for an EU financial services directorate, carving regulatory oversight out of the internal market and services mandate it currently falls under. The main aim of this move would be to regulate European financial centers from a centralized directorate-general; however, many London-based banks fear that this would lead to more Eurozone-centric policies. (EurActiv)
Recent History Suggests Tougher Russia Sanctions are Needed
The US and Europe have come together to place additional sanctions on Russia’s economy after the recent shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. However, financial sanctions on other countries have not been as effective as hoped, prompting questions as to whether sanctions will need to be even tougher to be effective. Critics of the current policies have suggested that Russia’s energy sector need to be particularly targeted if this round of sanctions is to ultimately have a real impact. (The Wall Street Journal)
Free Trade Deal with US Could Bring Increases of 0.66% of GDP, and Thousands of New Jobs to Portugal
While TTIP has not been concluded, research shows that its implementation could bring huge benefits to the Portuguese economy. TTIP could bring over 40,000 jobs in the short term, and over 23 billion euros to the Portuguese economy by 2030. Moreover, Portugal stands to gain both the short and long term from this agreement from a boost to its international competitiveness and close ties with the United States. (Observador) – Original article in Portuguese
Recent Analysis
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: An Overview
The article by the Brum Chamber Policy, a British business membership organization, gives a nice and comprehensive overview over the issues that were addressed in the sixth round of TTIP negotiations. It provides a short recap of what TTIP encompasses and explains what it means for businesses at the example of UK companies. (Brum Chamber Policy)
Transatlantic Economic Agreements – Parsing CETA and TTIP
This paper, part of a paper series issued by the Centre for International Government Innovation, compares the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the EU to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership currently negotiated between the US and the EU. It looks at differences and similarities between the two agreements and points out components which could pose difficulties for US-EU negotiators in the future. (International Relations and Security Network)
Aligning for the Future: How an Expanded Transatlantic Alliance Fosters Peace and Prosperity
This blog post by the German Marshall Fund emphasizes the importance of deepening of transatlantic economic relations for underlining transatlantic security. The author relates peace and prosperity with stability, and calls for the rapid conclusion of TTIP and further economic trade agreements in order to resolve common challenges such as energy insecurity. (German Marshall Fund)
Free Trade Agreements Challenged
Prince Michael of Liechtenstein, writing for the Geopolitical Information Service, addresses the positive effects that both CETA and TTIP can have for transatlantic trade and points out that the current criticism these two agreements are facing can be attributed to short-sightedness and fear originating from misinformation. However, he partly blames US and EU governments for not being outspoken and transparent enough about the benefits that both consumers and producers would enjoy once the trade deals are finalized. (Geopolitical Information Service)
Transatlantic Growth Gap: Austerity not Among Reasons
Daniel Gros, writing for the Business Times, focuses on the reasons for the transatlantic growth gap, explaining why the EU economy has grown by about 4.5 percentage points less than the American economy in recent years. Contrary to public perception, the austerity measures taken by the EU are not among the reasons for this gap; instead, higher rates of private consumption in the US (encouraged by bankruptcies and “no recourse” mortgages) have fueled a stronger more sustainable recovery. (Business Times)
Can Investment Save Europe?
Jean Pisani-Ferry, French commissioner-general for Policy Planning, addresses the slow economic growth that Europe continues to struggle with, seven years after the onset of the crisis. He underlines the importance of public and private investment (principally in infrastructure) for the recovery of the European economy, something that both Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker have made their top priority. However, he cautions maintaining the balance between investment and cautious economic spending. (Project Syndicate)
Upcoming Events
Seventh Round of TTIP Negotiations – expected to take place in September in Washington; a political stock-taking between Ambassador Froman and Commissioner De Gucht will accompany the talks – More Information forthcoming
EU Policy Agenda for Social Enterprise: What next? – September 3 in Brussels – More Information