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.