Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). A Discussion about Benefits and Drawbacks

This paper introduces the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) which is a free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. Currently, both partners are negotiating about the content of the agreement. This includes amongst others the removal of trade and non-trade barriers and regulatory issues.

Some of the topics are highly controversial mainly due to differing standards and norms of both partners. After a thorough introduction of the background of TTIP as well as its content, the paper discusses possible benefits and drawbacks. These opportunities and risks are evaluated for both partners, the EU and U.S., but also for other countries that are not involved in discussions.

By reading this paper, the reader has the opportunity to inform himself/herself completely about TTIP and to additionally form an own opinion on TTIP based on the comprehensive benefits and drawbacks that are presented in this paper. At the end, stances of the most important political parties in Germany and America are presented followed by an critical evaluation of TTIP by the author. The paper finishes with a conclusion of the most important axioms of TTIP.