2013 Reports

The global significance of transatlantic investment rules

Kallmer, Jonathan S.

Investment is the bedrock of the economic relationship between the European Union and the United States. Together, EU and US firms have invested more than US$ 4 trillion in each others’ markets, and bilateral investment dwarfs transatlantic trade in goods and services. As the EU and US begin negotiating a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) -- an agreement that could be unprecedented in both its scale and scope -- investment is shaping up to be one of the more difficult areas of discussion, both substantively and politically. The EU’s process for developing an overall TTIP negotiating mandate revealed deep fissures among EU institutions and stakeholders on investment, with Germany and other member states, certain non-governmental and public interest organizations and the European Parliament concerned about the commercial and legal implications of investment agreements with large economies.