On June 17, 2013, President Obama, together with European Council President Van Rompuy, European Commission President Barroso, and UK Prime Minister Cameron, announced that the United States and the European Union (EU) would launch negotiations on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement. After a first preparatory cycle of three negotiation rounds in 2013, the negotiating parties gathered again for an entire week in Brussels from March 10 until March 14, 2014, to discuss the substance of the agreement.
With a daily trade in goods and services estimated at $2 billion and transatlantic investments supporting 6.8 million jobs, the TTIP, by far the world’s largest proposed trade accord, is not “business as usual” in the world of trade agreements. The negotiating parties will cover various traditional trade and investment aspects—such as services, labor, rules of origin, intellectual property—but given the already low tariffs between the two negotiating parties, the most critical negotiations will focus on reducing regulatory barriers.
The panelists, including representatives from the two sides of the negotiating table, will provide a status report after the conclusion of the fourth round of negotiations and will discuss the profound significance of such an agreement between two major and equal economic partners that share the same democratic and economic values.
This will be an off-the-record conversation under Chatham House Rules. Attendees may use the information, that is, but not attribute it to any of the speakers or participants.
This event will run from 3:30 p.m. to approximately 6:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be provided.
Speakers:
- Adeline Hinderer Sayers, Counselor, Trade, Delegation of the EU to the United States
- David Weiner, Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Europe at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
- Steve Charnovitz, Associate Professor, George Washington University Law School
- Vanessa Sciarra, Partner, Holland & Knight (Washington, D.C.) and Former Assistant General Counsel with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
Moderator:
- Susan L. Karamanian, Associate Dean for International and Comparative Legal Studies, George Washington University Law School
