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).

News

Watch Out for the Rise of a European Tea Party | Financial Times
Europe’s rebel parties share a rhetoric with America’s Tea Party: the system is rotten, that society is heading for disaster, and compromise is not an option. For the EU, which is still struggling to rebuild confidence in the euro internally and externally, the rise of a European Tea Party would risk disaster. 

France Maintains Hard Line on EU Transatlantic Trade Talks | Financial Times
French Agriculture Minister Stephane Le Foll has insisted that France will pressure the EU to retain its policies on genetically modified crops and chemically cleaned meat. He believes that “dialogue must be built on [recognition] of the very different conceptions of agriculture.”

Nicholson to Play Key Role in EU-US Trade Negotiations | Farming Life
MEP Jim Nicholson has been appointed to be the standing reporter for TTIP negotiations to the European Parliament’s Agriculture Committee. Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Nicholson acknowledged the importance of his role leading the Agriculture Committee’s responses during “this next big challenge for Europe and European Agriculture.”

“Britville” to imprint on Nashville | Business and Heritage
TTIP will top the agenda at an Atlanta British Consulate-General and UK Trade & Investment meeting in Nashville this week. Tennessee, home to 107 companies based in the United Kingdom that provide more than 12,000 Tennesseans with employment, has considerable stake in the negotiations moving forward.

EU Strikes Trade Deal With Canada, Looks to US | Business Recorder
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso agreed to a trade pact Last Friday, the EU’s first with a G8 member. This agreement will integrate two of the world’s largest economies and paves the way for Europe to clinch an even bigger deal with the United States.

Recent Analysis

American Agriculture: Go Europe | EurActiv
According to a recent study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council, there are “grave scientific, economic and social consequences of current European Union policy towards GM crops,” when many of the arguments against GMOs are based on “contested science.” TTIP negotiations offer a perfect opportunity to address and advance the current EU policies on GMOs.

The Impact of a New German Government on the European Union | Diplomatic Courier
The recent German general elections reinforced the public support for Angela Merkel’s financial crisis management techniques, but the elections also leave many questions in the air about Germany’s role within the European Union. As for TTIP negotiations, energy policy is expected to heavily influence Germany’s postion in negotiations.

America’s Not In Decline — It’s On the Rise | Washington Post
Despite concerns of impending American decline, the United States is emerging from the financial crisis with new sources of influence, including historic trade pacts that will reinvigorate a first-rate global trade agenda with universal high standards.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, October 24, 2013 – In Sofia: The American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria will host a conference on Bulgarian perspectives of a TTIP Agreement. .
Thursday, October 24, 2013 – In Berlin: BDI will host a conference on the opportunities and challenges of TTIP. 
Tuesday, October 29, 2013 – In Brussels: Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue 14th Annual Meeting – TTIP: Can it Bring Benefits to the People?
Next Round of TTIP Negotiations in Washington – Currently Scheduled for December 2013.

Employment Opportunities

Senior Trade Policy Advisor, British Embassy Washington
Assistant Director, Transatlantic Relations, Atlantic Council