Trade agreements with side-effects? : European Union and United States to negotiate Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

"At the G8 summit in Northern Ireland on June 17, the European Union and the United States kicked off the negotiations for a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to reduce tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers. While the expected economic benefits for both sides would be more than welcome in an era of gloomy growth forecasts, a TTIP is not entirely without risks for global trade and the multilateral trading system. The talks could tie up a considerable portion of EU and US negotiating capacity and divert attention from the WTO Doha Round. More broadly, potential trade-diverting effects could function to the detriment of other trading partners. Such side-effects should be avoided. The 'high road' of international trade policy must remain the WTO, with bilateral agreements making sense only as a stepping stone to multilateral liberalisation. Alongside the TTIP talks, the Transatlantic Partners should therefore continue to push for a conclusion of the Doha Round. And the TTIP must be designed to be compatible with WTO rules." (author's abstract