The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A Roadmap for Success
4 Pages Posted: 29 Apr 2014
Date Written: October 14, 2013
Abstract
The potential upside of a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement to liberalize trade, investment, and regulatory barriers between the United States and the European Union is substantial. The economic benefits are estimated to be in the range of a $125 billion annual boost to GDP on each side of the Atlantic. Realistically, the benefits will depend on whether the enthusiastic rhetorical commitments to achieving a comprehensive agreement are matched by actual accomplishments on the ground. A comprehensive, ambitious agreement will require the resolution of differences in dozens of areas. On some issues, bridging the divides should be fairly straightforward, though not necessarily easy. On others, success will require copious amounts of determination, ingenuity, and political will.
This paper suggests a procedural roadmap for managing the negotiations in an orderly, constructive, politically digestible manner. Managing with forethought and determination a process that could otherwise descend into an intractable quagmire is essential to ensuring that negotiators deliver most of what they promise.
Keywords: Economic Integration, United States–European Union relations, TTIP, WTO
JEL Classification: N40, F13, F16
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation