TTIP, regulatory diversion and third countries

Abstract

The goals of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) initiative are both straightforward and ambitious: to further integrate the transatlantic market place. To achieve this this objective one dimension is to remove remaining tariffs on transatlantic trade and similar policy measures that discriminate in favour of domestic providers of goods and services. Another dimension, one that looms much larger in public debates and advocacy of both proponents and opponents of deeper transatlantic integration, is greater ‘regulatory coherence’ – initiatives to reduce the market-segmenting and thus cost-raising effects of differences in regulatory regimes and standards that apply to products and suppliers on different sides of the Atlantic. The purpose of this chapter is to assess the relevance of both dimensions for third parties, drawing upon available evidence to gauge the seriousness of different potential TTIP-induced policy changes.