Critiquing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): Systemic Consequences for Global Governance and the Rule of Law

Abstract:

Considering the implications of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) for the architecture of global (economic) governance, including the international rule of law, the article addresses some of the most pertinent systemic consequences TTIP is likely to produce, based on the shape the agreement is currently taking.

The article’s main arguments are that despite representing innovation and added value in some areas, TTIP may produce negative consequences in at least three respects. Firstly, it will cater to an imbalance in terms of access to justice in the area of investment protection; secondly, by providing a way out for the World Trade Organization's (WTO) two most active litigants, it can contribute to the de-judicialization of international trade law; and thirdly, it creates potential for a fierce backlash from the rest of the world as regards the global promotion of an overtly transatlantic regulatory and normative agenda.