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
US Objectives, US Benefits In the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A Detailed View
In an effort to increase US public awareness about the Administration’s negotiating objectives and the economic benefits that TTIP could bring, USTR has issued a detailed “fact sheet” that makes clear its positions on many of the issues at hand. (More information)
EU, US trade talks – Negotiators Hear from 90 Representatives of Environmental and Consumer groups, Business, and Trades Unions
More information about the stakeholder consultations, along with a schedule and list of speakers is available here.
Statement by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht: An “economic life-line for Ukraine”: Temporary tariff cuts for Ukrainian exports to the EU
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht announced unilateral tariff cuts on Ukrainian imports into the EU an “economic life-line” that will grant preferential access to Ukrainian goods. This is step in the direction to ultimately in the more medium to long-term, concluding the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA); the rejection of which sparked the Ukrainian protests against ousted President Yanukovych. (European Commission)
News
High-Stakes US-European Trade Talks Open with Major Hurdles Ahead
This week’s third round of negotiations in Brussels are focusing on difficult issues including government procurement, technical barriers to trade, and the always hot topic of agriculture. These negotiations represent a shift in gear in the level of difficulty of the talks as negotiators get down to discussing major points of contention. (CNBC)
US Senators Shocked by EU’s Cheese-name Claims
Senators Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Charles Schumer (D-NY) rallied together more than half of Senators in the chamber to oppose a proposal by the European Commission that could force many American-produced cheeses to change their names. This latest controversy is indicative of the much larger geographic indicator issue, which is an important one for the EU considering that according to the EU patent office, about 35 percent of EU jobs depend on geographical indicators and the intellectual property rights attached to them. (EurActiv)
US Claims EU Abandoning Tariff Pledge
Senior US trade negotiators are accused the EU negotiating team of reneging on its commitment to eliminating all tariffs on traded goods and services. This accusation comes in light of the EU’s categorical statement in negotiations this week that it will not consider eliminating tariffs on beef, pork, or chicken, and instead subject these products to a sliding system of tariff-rate quotas. (Financial Times)
Green Party Leaks Confidential TTIP Paper
Last Friday, a confidential document of guidelines for the European Council of Ministers on negotiations with the United States was leaked and posted on the website of the German Green Party. MEPs from the Green Party responsible for the leak said that it was challenging a number of passages in the text. For example, they called the draft Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions a secretive measure which could take away the authority to regulate social and environmental states from elected parliaments. (EurActiv)
Recent Analysis
The ‘I’ in the TTIP Will Create a Global Gold Standard
There are arguments by trade experts that including an Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism is not necessary for the conclusion of trade agreements between developed economies like the US and EU. However, others including the business leaders who authored this op-ed in the Financial Times argue persuasively that including an ISDS clause in TTIP is necessary to create a ‘gold standard’ for negotiations with developing countries, where investments are at greater risk of expropriation and discriminatory regulation. (Financial Times)
The TTIP at the Forefront of the 21st Century International Trade System?
Elvire Fabry of the Jacques Delors Institute points out that TTIP’s focus on regulatory convergence is pioneering a new generation of trade agreements. The real benefits of TTIP go beyond the preliminary impact assessments; there are a number of parameters on regulatory coherence issues that still need to be clarified in negotiations, but could point a clear path forward for international coordination on regulatory issues. (Notre Europe-Jacques Delors Institute)
Upcoming Events
Round 4 of TTIP Negotiations in Brussels – ongoing to March 14
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Press Event in Brussels – March 14 (More information)
EU-US Trade Agreement: Myths And Truths at the European Parliament in Brussels, room ASP 5E2 – March 18 (Register here)
TTIP and Financial Services Regulation: A Hearing by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee in the European Parliament – March 18 (More information)
Roundtable on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): An European and American Discussion- March 18. (More information)
President Obama travels to Brussels for a US-EU Summit – March 26