Since the summer of 2013 the USA negotiates with the EU about a transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP). The objective of these negotiations is the reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade, to increase the economic power of the two economic regions and to create jobs. The Protestant Academy Loccum and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung investigate the question, how the current negotiation status quo can be assessed from a consumer point of view. ConPolicy-Director Prof Dr Christian Thorun comments on the negotiations from a transatlantic consumer perspective. His central thesis is that while much closer transatlantic regulatory cooperation was imperative (particularly in the areas of privacy, financial services and food&nutrition), the current negotiations fall short of consumer expectations. Rather than negotiating ambitious standards based on best practices, important consumer protections regulations are in danger to be watered down. To move forward the focus should be on those areas where standards are already similar and where mutual recognition was possible and to turn the respective Best Practices into transatlantic norms.
Link to presentation (German version).
