The Benefits of a New Atlantic Growth Pact

In the final months of the Obama presidency, U.S. officials are scrambling to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which is facing opposition in Congress. Negotiations over a U.S.-EU deal -- the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP -- are meeting equally daunting cha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Wall Street journal Asia
Main Authors Silverberg, Kristen, Levy, Phil
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Hong Kong Dow Jones & Company Inc 01.11.2016
Subjects
EU membership
Financial services
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Presidential elections
Trade agreements
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Summary:In the final months of the Obama presidency, U.S. officials are scrambling to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which is facing opposition in Congress. Negotiations over a U.S.-EU deal -- the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP -- are meeting equally daunting challenges. The U.S.-EU commercial relationship is full of issues, such as agricultural trade, that have proved intractable for decades, along with newer disputes such as post-Edward Snowden standards for data-privacy protection. Discouraged by the lack of progress, European leaders are now considering a pause in negotiations. Tens of thousands of protesters rallied against TTIP in Berlin and other German cities last month, opposing the agreement's alleged impact on environmental standards and animal rights. The French, who are heading to presidential elections in 2017, have threatened to block any agreement. Since the U.K., the largest U.S. export market in the European Union, voted this summer for Brexit, it will no longer be a voice in TTIP. Yet despite the challenges, the strategic case for a European deal is more compelling than ever -- and next year will bring the U.S. an opportunity to restart talks with a new approach. We propose that the next U.S. administration relaunch the negotiations as a three-party deal among the U.S., Britain and the EU -- a new Atlantic Growth Pact.