THE T-TIP : U.S. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

This factsheet describes the U.S. Administration’s specific goals and objectives for the T-TIP in terms of TRADE IN GOODS, TEXTILES AND APPAREL, NON-TARIFF BARRIERS AND REGULATORY ISSUES, RULES OF ORIGIN, TRADE IN SERVICES, ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SERVICES, INVESTMENT, CUSTOMS AND TRADE FACILITATION, GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT, LABOR, ENVIRONMENT, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS, STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES, SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMEs),  TRANSPARENCY, ANTICORRUPTION AND COMPETITION, DISPUTE SETTLEMENT.

TRADE IN GOODS

• The U.S. seeks to eliminate all tariffs and other duties and charges on trade in agricultural, industrial and consumer products between the United States and the EU, with substantial duty elimination on entry into force of the agreement, transition periods where necessary for sensitive products, and appropriate safeguard mechanisms to be applied if and where necessary.

TEXTILES AND APPAREL

• The U.S. seeks to obtain fully reciprocal access to the EU market for U.S. textile and apparel products, supported by effective and efficient customs cooperation and other rules to facilitate U.S.-EU trade in textiles and apparel.

NON-TARIFF BARRIERS AND REGULATORY ISSUES

• The U.S. seeks to eliminate or reduce non-tariff barriers that decrease opportunities for U.S. exports, provide a competitive advantage to products of the EU, or otherwise distort trade, such as unwarranted sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) restrictions that are not based on science, unjustified technical barriers to trade (TBT), and other “behind-the-border” barriers, including the restrictive administration of tariff-rate quotas and permit and licensing barriers, which impose unnecessary costs and limit competitive opportunities for U.S. exports.

• While maintaining the level of health, safety and environmental protection, the U.S.  seeks greater compatibility of U.S. and EU regulations and related standards development processes, with the objective of reducing costs associated with unnecessary regulatory differences and facilitating trade, inter alia by promoting transparency in the development and implementation of regulations and good regulatory practices, establishing mechanisms for future progress, and pursuing regulatory cooperation initiatives where appropriate;

• The U.S. seeks to build on key principles and disciplines of the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) through strong cross-cutting disciplines and, as appropriate, through sectoral approaches, to achieve meaningful market access, and establish ongoing mechanisms for improved dialogue and cooperation on TBT issues;

• The U.S. seeks to build on key principles and disciplines of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures (SPS) to achieve meaningful market access, including commitments to base SPS measures on science and international standards or scientific risk assessments, apply them only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health, and develop such measures in a transparent manner, without undue delay; and to establish an on-going mechanism for improved dialogue and cooperation addressing bilateral SPS issues.

RULES OF ORIGIN

• The U.S. seeks to establish rules of origin that ensure that duty rates under an agreement with the EU apply only to goods eligible to receive such treatment and define procedures to apply and enforce such rules.

TRADE IN SERVICES

• The U.S. seeks to obtain improved market access in the EU on a comprehensive basis, and address the operation of any designated monopolies and state-owned enterprises, as appropriate; and

• The U.S. seeks to reinforce transparency, impartiality, and due process with regard to authorizations to supply services, obtain additional disciplines in certain services sectors, and improve regulatory cooperation where appropriate.

ELECTRONIC COMMERCE AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) SERVICES

• The U.S. seeks to develop appropriate provisions to facilitate the use of electronic commerce to support goods and services trade, including through commitments not to impose customs duties on digital products or unjustifiably discriminate among products delivered electronically;

• The U.S. seeks to include provisions that facilitate the movement of cross-border data flows.

INVESTMENT

• The U.S. seeks to secure for U.S. investors in the EU important rights comparable to those that would be available under U.S. legal principles and practice, while ensuring that EU investors in the United States are not accorded greater substantive rights with respect to investment protections than U.S. investors in the United States;

• The U.S. seeks to ensure that U.S. investors receive treatment as favorable as that accorded to EU investors or other foreign investors in the EU, and seek to reduce or eliminate artificial or trade-distorting barriers to the establishment and operation of U.S. investment in the EU;

• The U.S. seeks to provide and maintain meaningful procedures for resolving disputes between U.S. investors and the EU and its Member States that are in keeping with the goals of expeditious, fair and transparent dispute resolution and the objective of ensuring that governments maintain the discretion to regulate in the public interest.

CUSTOMS AND TRADE FACILITATION

• The U.S. seeks to establish disciplines to ensure transparent, efficient, and predictable conduct of customs operations and ensure that customs measures are not applied in a manner that creates unwarranted procedural obstacles to trade; and enhance customs cooperation between the United States and the EU and its Member States.

GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT

• The U.S. seeks to expand market access opportunities for U.S. goods, services, and suppliers of goods and services to the government procurement markets of the EU and its Member States;

• The U.S. seeks to ensure fair, transparent, and predictable conduct of government procurement and that U.S. suppliers of goods and services receive treatment as favorable as that accorded to domestic and other foreign goods, services, and suppliers in the EU and its Member States.

LABOR

• The U.S. seeks to obtain appropriate commitments by the EU with respect to internationally recognized labor rights and effective enforcement of labor laws concerning those rights, consistent with U.S. priorities and objectives, and establish procedures for consultations and cooperation to promote respect for internationally recognized labor rights.

ENVIRONMENT

• The U.S. seeks to obtain, consistent with U.S. priorities and objectives, appropriate commitments by the EU to protect the environment, including conserving natural resources, and to effectively enforce environmental laws, and seek opportunities to address environmental issues of mutual interest.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

• The U.S. seeks to obtain, consistent with U.S. priorities and objectives, appropriate commitments that reflect the shared U.S.-EU objective of high-level IPR protection and enforcement, and to sustain and enhance joint leadership on IPR issues;

• The U.S. seeks new opportunities to advance and defend the interests of U.S. creators, innovators, businesses, farmers, and workers with respect to strong protection and effective enforcement of intellectual property rights, including their ability to compete in foreign markets.

STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES

• The U.S. seeks to establish appropriate, globally relevant disciplines on state trading enterprises, state-owned enterprises, and designated monopolies, such as disciplines that promote transparency and reduce trade distortions.

SMALL-AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES (SMES)

• The U.S. seeks to strengthen U.S.-EU cooperation to enhance the participation of SMEs in trade between the United States and the EU.

TRANSPARENCY, ANTICORRUPTION AND COMPETITION

• The U.S. seeks to obtain improved transparency in the administration of EU and Member State trade and investment regimes, and rules that ensure trade- and investment-related measures are adopted and applied in an open and transparent manner that provides meaningful opportunities for public comment, notice, and review;

• The U.S. seeks to obtain appropriate commitments on anticorruption;

• The U.S. seeks to address matters of mutual interest regarding competition policy and process and to further improve cooperation on competition policy.

DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

• The U.S. seeks to establish fair, transparent, timely, and effective procedures to settle disputes on matters arising under a trade and investment agreement with the EU, including through early identification and settlement of disputes through consultation.