Trade for fairness

It seems clear that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada, and the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) have changed the perspective on the relevance of European trade policy. The debate about the legitimacy of the negotiating procedure and the resistance from a growing part of the population to accepting it have influenced the main actors and might influence the final results. After the 14th round of negotiation between US and EU officials last July – the third in six months – it looks as if there are serious difficulties concluding its signature, at least before the political deadline considered until now to be the main point of reference: President Obama’s mandate. Concerns expressed by leading European politicians, such as France’s president, François Hollande, last May, threatening to block the deal, or Germany’s economy minister, Sigmar Gabriel, declaring just a few weeks ago that the negotiations have failed, cast a shadow on the success of these negotiations. This break in the expectations is probably due not only to the alleged US reluctance to accept changes, but to a wider range of arguments, in which the increasing resistance to the TTIP can be considered a main factor, although not the only one.