Five Things You Should Know About The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP)
By Dan Mullaney, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe and the Middle East
President Obama makes a statement on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, in June 2013
This week, the second round of negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) is taking place in Brussels. Thanks to this agreement, Americans could find it a lot easier to sell goods and services to consumers in the European Union (EU).
T-TIP will open doors for trade and investment across the Atlantic, from Wall Street to Main Street. It offers an extraordinary opportunity for the United States to partner with the EU on an initiative that will build more jobs and spur economic growth, while at the same time maintaining high standards for health, safety, and environmental protection for people on both sides of the Atlantic.
Here are the Top 5 things you need to know about T-TIP:
1. T-TIP will promote jobs and growth. The EU is already our largest trading partner, with $2.7 billion worth of goods and services trade flowing between us each day, and nearly $4 trillion invested in each other’s economies. Lowering barriers to trade isn’t just smart for business, it’s smart for everyone. More than 13 million jobs in the United States and EU already depend on the U.S.-EU economic partnership, and T-TIP will result in more trade, more jobs, and more opportunities, including for small businesses across the country.
2. T-TIP is not just another Free Trade Agreement. It’s about strengthening the entire transatlantic relationship, a critical historic and strategic partnership. By strengthening our economies together through T-TIP, the United States and the EU will be better able to address today’s most urgent global challenges.
3. T-TIP can set high standards and pioneer new rules for the global trading system. The United States and EU have some of the most advanced regulatory systems in the world, and T-TIP will build on our shared commitment to strong regulations in the public interest. T-TIP seeks to bridge divergences between our regulatory systems in ways that help us to work smarter while maintaining high levels of protection for consumers.
4. We’re already working closely with the EU on many of these issues – and achieving results. The United States and the EU have a long history of economic cooperation, since the EU’s beginnings as the Economic Coal and Steel Community in 1957. We have come a long way, and have worked together effectively on a wide variety of challenges. For example, we recently concluded an agreement that allows U.S. and EU organic food producers to sell their products more easily across the Atlantic.
5. The second round of T-TIP negotiations is taking place in Brussels this week. We held the first round of T-TIP negotiations in July, and the second round is taking place in Brussels this week. To learn more about the T-TIP second negotiating round, please visit the USTR T-TIP webpage, USTR twitter page, or visit the U.S. Mission to the EU T-TIP webpage.
For more information:
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, T-TIP Website
U.S. Mission to the EU, T-TIP website
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman speaks to the German Marshall Fund, Sept 30, 2013
