Proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): In Brief, July 2013

The Congressional Research Service, a department of the Library of Congress, conducts research and analysis for Congress on a broad range of national and international policy issues. Some of the CRS work is carried out specifically for individual members of Congress or their staff and is confidential. However, there is also much CRS compiled material which is considered public but is not formally published on the CRS website.

For that reason a number of other organisations try to keep track of these publications and make them publicly available via their own websites. Currently, ESO uses the following websites to track these reports and allow access to them in ESO:

EveryCRSReport.com
Federation of American Scientists (FAS)

In some cases hyperlinks allows you to access all versions of a report, including the latest. Note that many reports are periodically updated.Congress has the constitutional authority to “regulate commerce with foreign nations.” Thus, it has an important legislative, oversight, and advisory role when trade agreements are being negotiated. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) being negotiated between the United States and the European Union (EU). Both sides envision the TTIP as a “comprehensive” and “high-standard” FTA. They seek, among other things, to increase market access through the elimination of barriers to trade and investment in goods, services, and agriculture, and enhance regulatory cooperation. The two sides also seek to use eventual TTIP commitments on the global scene: to advance trade liberalization; set rules and standards; and address challenges associated with the rising economic powers (REPs). The United States and the European Union held the first round of TTIP negotiations in July 2013 in Washington, DC.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Leaked document shows EU fear of inferiority in US trade talks http://www.europeansources.info/record/leaked-document-shows-eu-fear-of-inferiority-in-us-trade-talks/

EveryCRSReport.com https://www.everycrsreport.com/

Federation of American Scientists (FAS): Congressional Research Service [CRS] Reports https://fas.org/sgp/crs/index.html

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