Roundtable "Tiptoeing to the TTIP: What Kind of Agreement for What Kind of Partnership?"

Set to become the world’s largest free trade agreement to date, TTIP aims to further liberalise trade and investment between the EU and US economies, which already account for almost a half of global GDP. This Roundtable brings eminent experts together for a policy-oriented discussion of the most topical issues arising from TTIP negotiations. The goal is to inform the public and policy debates on the far-reaching consequences of this new EU-US partnership for transatlantic relations and global political economy. The Roundtable focuses on two broad themes that have proven to be the most critical in the negotiation process: regulatory cooperation and the investor-state dispute settlement mechanism (ISDS). The first panel assesses the impact of deeper EU-US regulatory cooperation for consumer welfare and environment protection. Heeding TTIP’s designation as a ‘living’ instrument, the speakers will also analyse the advantages and disadvantages of the reformed institutional setup of transatlantic regulatory cooperation, embodied by a Regulatory Cooperation Council, and examine the consequences that TTIP carries for EU lawmaking and democratic legitimacy. In the second panel, speakers will critically appraise the ISDS mechanism and its impact on national sovereignty and the operation of public services. This will be carried out in light of the experience of international investment tribunals and EU investment disputes. This will provide valuable insight into the best practice on dispute settlement in trade. The Roundtable will conclude with a series of policy recommendations for policy makers.

This is an invitation-only event.

For more information please contact Dr. Luca Pantaleo (l.pantaleo@asser.nl).