TRANSATLANTIC-TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (T-TIP): MYTHS AND REALITY
Submitted by christian on Mon, 09/22/2014 - 17:36
- MYTH: T-TIP negotiations are happening in secret and the agreement will be concluded out of the public eye. The reality is that the EU and the U.S. are only in the very early stages of discussions but have published their goals and objectives.
- MYTH: T-TIP is undemocratic / the process lacks transparency. Why can’t people vote on it? The reality is that like any negotiation, T-TIP preliminary discussions require a degree of confidentiality until negotiations are concluded.
- MYTH: T-TIP will only benefit very large businesses. The reality is that small businesses and start-ups have much more to gain from T-TIP than big firms.
- MYTH: T-TIP will lead to dangerous deregulation and loss of quality and safety. The reality is that the T-TIP will not lower EU or U.S. standards – it’s about finding ways to make regulations on both sides more compatible and removing redundancies while achieving the same high levels of protection.
- MYTH: T-TIP will end multilateralism and the WTO’s Doha Round. The reality is that both the EU and U.S. remain committed to a multilateral approach involving as many countries as possible.
- MYTH: T-TIP will harm developing countries and newly emerging economies. The reality is that greater compatibility and enhanced transparency regarding U.S. and EU standards and regulations will make it easier and more affordable for developing countries to sell their products on both sides of the Atlantic.
- MYTH: Why do we need something so new and untried? The reality is that while the U.S./EU trade relationship is still the largest in the world - currently making up about one third of global GDP - combined share of the global market has been shrinking. Fifteen years ago U.S./EU trade accounted for half of the world’s GDP. There is a need to act now to ensure Transatlantic leadership on trade rules and standards that safeguard worldwide benchmarks for quality, transparency and market access.
- MYTH: T-TIP will force EU countries to accept Genetically Modified Foods and will force EU countries to abandon laws to protect the environment. The reality is that the goal of T-TIP is to expand bilateral trade and investment, not to re-write laws and regulations on either side.
- MYTH: The investor-State dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS) will impose new, extra-legal conditions, requiring EU countries to comply with US- or corporate diktats, overturning EU member states’ political sovereignty. The reality is that international investments are already protected by a vast network of bilateral and multilateral agreements; U.S. agreements improve upon this body of rules through numerous safeguards.
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