Negotiations continue on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Last week, negotiators completed the 12th Round in Brussels. During the Brussels Round, discussions included the European Union’s (EU) internal draft proposal for the investment, which would be incorporated into EU's proposal for services, investment and e-commerce text.
While there is no firm date for negotiations to be concluded, USTR Froman is reportedly seeking a final TTIP deal before President Obama leaves office. Now following the completion of the 12th Round in Brussels, negotiators are said to be pushing for two additional negotiating round by August. The goal is to produce a draft treaty before the summer break that would nail down items in agreement, in order to clearly identify those issues on which further work is required.
TTIP is intended to be a comprehensive trade and investment agreement between the United States and the EU that will promote opportunities for increased access to European markets for American-made products supporting U.S. international competitiveness, jobs and growth. Key issues to be covered in the agreement include:
- Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS)
- Cross-Border Data Flows
- Services
- Privacy
- Telecommunications
- State Owned Enterprises (SOEs)
- Localization policies
- U.S. – EU Safe Harbor Agreement
CompTIA certainly supports the goal of increased international trade by eliminating or lowering tariffs. However, our support for a future TTIP agreement will only be determined after the agreement is released for public review. Similar to TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership), a key concern will be promoting the free flow of data while protecting privacy rights and data security.
