A number of newspaper headlines are claiming that the TTIP negotiations - or at least part of the negotiations - will be suspended. On the contrary, the negotiation process is still moving ahead despite complexities arising from harmonizing regulation of markets. The next formal round of talks, the fourth, will be held for a week – starting March 10 – in Brussels.
Additionally, the European Commission has just launched a public consultation in order to reflect on what the EU’s negotiating position on investment protection issues will be – with a particular focus on investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS). This consultation is part of the Commission’s overall determination to ensure that the TTIP negotiations are as open and transparent as is possible. The public consultation is a great opportunity to get important feedback from the public and from all those who have a stake in a successful TTIP outcome.
Most of the remaining barriers between Europe and America are related to regulation. The negotiations are not going to address all of them and in many areas, there are good reasons for our different approaches. It is not a question of who is right or wrong, or better or worse. But where we can we want to find solutions that are in the interest of both sides, without compromising our diverse values and without lowering levels of protection.
Currently, the US and EU trade levels are a well over half a trillion dollars per year. Our combined GDP represents more than half of global GDP, and our bilateral trade and investment flows account for more than 30% of global trade. Each day, $2.7 billion in goods and services are traded bilaterally, which sustains millions of jobs on both sides of the pond. A comprehensive Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment could liberalize a third of global trade in one fell swoop.
Beyond purely economic benefits — some analysts suggest $250 billion would be added to the GDP of the expanded trade block in 5 years — the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership also offers the EU and US a chance to further unite their vision of a world favoring open markets, free peoples and the rule of law.
Let’s keep an optimistic and open attitude – and hope the TTIP makes a leap forward in Brussels in March. Stay tuned.