TTIP as 21st Century Trade Politics

Young, Alisdair R. (2015) TTIP as 21st Century Trade Politics. [Conference Proceedings] (Submitted)

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Abstract

Trade policy is commonly understood as the product of competition between export-oriented and import-competing interests. The politics that has emerged early in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, however, reflects a very different cleavage. Transatlantic alliances of transnational firms have emerged as the champions of a far-reaching agreement, while a variety of civic interest groups have formed the principal opposition. This paper contends this distinctive pattern of trade politics is primarily the product of the distinctive degree of interpenetration between the American and European economies. The high-level of interpenetration means that much of transatlantic economic exchange occurs through trade within firms or global value chains or through foreign affiliate sales, which dramatically reducing firm opposition to trade liberalization. The high degree of interpenetration, reflected in generally low tariffs, means that the principle obstacles to trade lie in regulatory differences. Concern about the deregulatory potential of the talks has spurred civic interest engagement. It speculates that misunderstanding the implications of the character of transatlantic economic exchange contributed to the gap between the early expectations of a swift, ambitious deal and more recent assessments of a protracted and limited agreement.

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