Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 07/2014

Locked In or Left Out? Transatlantic Trade Beyond Brussels and Washington

Sinan Ülgen

June 2014

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Abstract

Many countries are interested in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) that Brussels and Washington are negotiating. But the United States and the European Union (EU) began talks without devising a way to involve their main trade partners. This approach, understandable given the complexity of the negotiations, could produce a bilateral agreement that is difficult to multilateralize. To influence the negotiations, third countries interested in eventually joining TTIP should pursue an agenda centered on the accession mechanism, the elimination of nontariff barriers, and dispute settlement.