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
Hearing on Advancing the US Trade Agenda: The Benefits of Expanding US Agriculture Trade and Eliminating Barriers to US Exports
When opening a House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee hearing yesterday, Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) called on the Administration to take a strong stance in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and TTIP negotiations in support of full tariff elimination on agricultural goods. Congressman Nunes advised that the United States complete the negotiations without partners who are unwilling to cooperate on tariff elimination. He also urged Congress to quickly pass Trade Promotion Authority to strengthen the United States’ position in the ongoing negotiations.
See Congressman Nunes’ full statement here.
More information about the hearing, including a list of speakers and their testimony, is available here.
News
Experts Contradict Consumer Advocates–Chlorinated Chicken Not Less Healthy
Calling for a more fact-based debate of food safety standards related to TTIP, experts from Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and independent food safety and veterinary research organizations counter claims that chlorine treatment of poultry for disinfection purposes is unsafe in a recent segment of ARD’s Report Mainz. Highlighting extensive problems in Germany’s poultry production with pathogens such as salmonella, BfR experts suggest adding chlorine treatment to current hygiene requirements which would enhance food safety in this sector. This would bring treatment broadly in line with US practices. (ARD-Tagesschau) – Original article in German
US Chamber Of Commerce Voices Concern Over Potential BNP Fine
The US Chamber of Commerce voiced its concerns over the potential scale of the fine set to penalize French bank BNP Paribas for breaking US sanctions against doing business with rogue states. Myron Brilliant, the Chamber’s VP for International Affairs, said that the Chamber would ‘weigh in’ on the case if the fine turns out to be unjust. The Chamber is concerned that this will have an adverse effect on foreign investments in US, but said that this case would not derail talks on TTIP. (Financial Times)
CDI Chief Calls for Expanded Trade, Elimination of Barriers
Andrei Mikhalevsky, president and CEO of California Dairies, Inc., testified Tuesday before members of the US House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade. Mr. Mikhalevsky emphasized that his company would only make further investments once he had reassurance that international market access for his dairy products would improve substantially. He noted that government protectionism of the dairy sector in Europe, Canada, and Asian markets dramatically increased costs of exporting his products to those markets. TTIP, therefore, has the potential to greatly benefit his company through eliminating these barriers to trade and lowering the extremely high tariffs on dairy products. (Dairy Herd)
Recent Analysis
EU Commissioner Sees No Danger for Cultural Subsidies
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht writes for the German weekly Die Zeit to debunk the myth that TTIP would undermine government support for audiovisual services like film and radio in the European Union. He stresses that this area has been excluded from the EU’s negotiating mandate at France’s insistence, and in any event TTIP will not remove the right of the state to subsidize their cultural sector. De Gucht further addresses concerns raised by civil society groups regarding the investor-state dispute settlement clauses. (Zeit Online)
TTIP’s Implications for the Global Economic Integration of Central and Eastern Europe
TTIP provides an excellent opportunity to further integrate Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries into a global supply chain. Moreover, on the energy front, TTIP has the potential to decrease Europe’s reliance on Russia for its energy needs. (Center for Transatlantic Relations)
Horse-trading is not the way to Select Europe’s Next Leader
András Simonyi, managing director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS, argues that European leaders should turn their focus away from finding the right candidate for the European Commission presidency, and instead focus on finding the right strategy to put Europe on the right path to reform and economic growth. This will give them a better understanding as to what kind of candidate to look for to meet the challenge. (Huffington Post)
The Geopolitical Implications of TTIP
Former Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats writes for the Center for Transatlantic Relations that TTIP will underpin the basis for cooperation by Europeans and Americans in other policy areas such as security. By advancing job creating transatlantic trade and investment, European and US leaders will enjoy broader support to cooperate in the geo-political realm, and give them more legitimacy to advocate for political reform in other parts of the world. (Center for Transatlantic Relations)
Plunged into Chaos? The Future of Global Economic Cooperation
Bartlomiej E. Nowak writes for the German Marshall Fund that regionalization in global trade and investment has become the norm given the complexity in reaching multilateral agreements. While this represents a practical approach to breaking the deadlock, there are some global problems that can only be solved multilaterally. Mr. Nowak argues that in light of this, international institutions should be reformed to reflect the global shift in economic power away from the West, in order to keep these institutions of economic governance relevant. (GMF)
TTIP: Don’t Lose Momentum!
As global economic power has shifted from the West to the developing world, multilateralism in trade has stalled in light of the rise of competing economic and political models that have challenged existing Western institutions. Thomas Straubhaar argues that TTIP presents the right strategy to circumvent the impasse in multilateral trade talks. He argues that TTIP makes sense because it increases economic welfare, is politically feasible, and is transferrable beyond the US and EU once in place. (Center for Transatlantic Relations)
TTIP: A Challenge, but also an Opportunity for Europe
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) stands in support of a potential US-EU deal, and is calling on TTIP negotiators to ensure that the benefits of the agreement are spread evenly among businesses, workers, and consumers. Moreover, EESC would like to ensure the agreement includes a separate chapter on sustainable development and small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) support. The EESC also emphasized the importance of a transparent dialogue, asking negotiators to continue to engage with civil society to ensure that the agreement has broad-based public support.(EESC)
Upcoming Events
Self-Regulation in the Financial Markets: Exchange Issues, Market Structure, and Investor Protections – June 12 in Washington, DC – More information
Cities and the Wealth of Nations: What do Global European Cities want from Trade Policy and TTIP? – June 16 in Brussels – More information
US-EU Legal Summit – June 16 in Brussels – More information
The State Of Euro-Atlanticism: A Transatlantic Talk with Ambassador Victoria Nuland – June 16 in Washington, DC – More information
Staying Ahead of the Risk Curve: Creating Opportunity in a Shifting Regulatory Environment – June 18 in New York City – More information
Security In and Around Europe: A Discussion with H.E. Ursula von der Leyen, German Minister of Defense – June 19, Washington DC; hosted by the Atlantic Council – More information
TTIP One Year On: Consumers Mean Business – June 24 in Washington, DC; hosted by the Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue – More information
Round 6 of TTIP Negotiations – July (exact dates TBD) in Brussels