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The Economics, Geopolitics, and Architecture of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: A Cato Online Forum

All of the participants in Cato’s October 12, 2015 conference titled “Will the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Live Up to Its Potential?” were asked to write an essay of approximately 1,500 words on any aspect of the TTIP that he or she finds interesting, important, or compelling enough to merit an essay. The scope of the essays range from 30,000 foot perspectives to detailed treatments of specific issues, and they encompass a range of subjects, including TTIP’s prospects for reducing specific kinds of trade barriers; the specter of TTIP causing trade diversion; the implications of TTIP’s investment rules on democratic governance; the impact of TTIP on the West’s relations with Russia and China; TTIP’s effect on the multilateral trading system; and the enormous benefits that could be extracted if TTIP were able to dismantle the most sacred trade barriers.

Those essays will be accessible from this page beginning on the date of their online publication. I hope you will peruse, if not closely read these essays, which represent a broad range of views from experts with different opinions about the importance, propriety, scope, and specific contents of the TTIP, and trade agreements, generally. Your feedback is welcome and encouraged.


Susan Ariel Aaronson
George Washington University

Vinod Aggarwal
University of California, Berkeley

Edward Alden
Council on Foreign Relations

Alberto Alemanno
HEC Paris & NYU Law

Per Altenberg
Swedish Board of Trade

Inu Barbee
Georgetown University

Laura Baughman
Trade Partnership

Axel Berger
German Development Institute

Fran Burwell
Atlantic Council

Marjorie Chorlins
U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Judy Demspey
Carnegie Europe

Celeste Drake
AFL-CIO

Iana Dreyer
Bor​der​lex​.eu

Michelle Egan
American University

Fredrik Erixon
ECIPE

Dr. Gabriel Felbermayr
Ifo Institute

John Gillingham
Harvard University Center for European Studies

Gary Hufbauer
Peterson Institute

Daniel Ikenson
Cato Institute

Jim Kolbe
German Marshall Fund

Simon Lester
Cato Institute

Damien Levie
European Union Delegation in Washington D.C.

Phil Levy
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Hanna Norberg
Institute for International and Development Economics

Joost Pauwelyn
Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies

Daniel Pearson
Cato Institute

Peter Rashish
Transnational Strategy Group

Joakim Reiter
UN Conference on Trade and Development

Gregory Shaffer
University of California, Irvine School of Law

Gabriel Siles-Brügge
University of Manchester

Dr. Harsha V. Singh
International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development

Bill Watson
Cato Institute