Transatlantic trade deal could suffer Brexit fallo
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Another O'bama globalist leftist initiative
Something called the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP -- a trade deal between the U.S. and European Union -- could ease some pain caused by Brexit, Britain's vote to bolt the EU.
Or, could it?
TTIP would expand access to markets in those two regions by eliminating tariffs and reducing other non-tariff trade barrier.
"It has the ability to act as a counter to whatever negatives may or may not ultimately attach themselves to whatever construct is negotiated between the U.K. and Europe," Secretary of State John Kerry said this week.
The U.S. and EU have been negotiating the trade pact for 3 years and had hoped to complete it this year.
A priority for Obama
"This remains a high priority for President Obama … and there's a reason for that," Kerry said after a meeting with EU foreign ministers.
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Even so, some trade experts say it will be a struggle to complete the trade agreement this year.
"On balance, Brexit hurts TTIP. Negotiators' time will be wasted figuring out Brexit at the expense of TTIP. Brexit also shows that public discontent must be taken seriously," says Caroline Freund, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who specializes in trade policy.
"The silver lining is that Brexit could give impetus to TTIP, if Brussels wants to show it can get something done," she says, referring to the EU's host city.
A new landscape for talks
Tu Packard, a senior economist at Moody's Analytics, says the U.S. and EU will want to get a clearer idea of the relationship between the U.K. and EU because it will affect the trade deal.
"That won't happen until after Article 50 is triggered," Packard said, referring to the EU rule that, once activated, starts the exit negotiations between the EU and U.K.
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The agreement also will be impacted by the assessment of the EU's value without the U.K., Packard says. "It's quite possible that the U.S. will get a better deal as a result of the 'leave' vote," she says.
Packard likes the pact in the long run. "The TTIP would boost U.S. export growth and that would certainly help U.S. workers in the export sector," she says.
Some numbers behind TTIP
According to the White House, the agreement would:
Further open EU markets, increasing the $458 billion in goods and private services that the U.S. exported in 2012 to the EU, our largest export market.
Strengthen rules-based investment to grow the world's largest investment relationship. The U.S. and the EU already maintain almost $3.7 trillion in investment in each other's economies (as of 2011).
Eliminate all tariffs on trade.
Tackle costly "behind the border" non-tariff barriers that impede the flow of goods, including agricultural goods.
Obtain improved market access on trade in services.
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