Transatlantic free trade : the view point of Germany

The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States of America would be the largest preferential trade agreement in the world. Encompassing almost half of world GDP, it will have strong economic effects on Germany. In this paper, we put this trade policy initiative in its broader perspective. We argue that, despite appearances, the US-German trade potential is not exhausted. We survey existing studies and find that the project could increase per capita income in Germany by between 1 and 3%. We critically question the need for investor-state dispute settlement and argue that the TTIP will have discriminatory effects on at least some third countries. However, regulatory councils are important ingredients of the deal as they guarantee that the TTIP will indeed influence the setting of global standards in the future.