Europe Letter: EU-US trade deal debate gathers pace

European Commission officials travel across the Atlantic next week for talks on the European Union-United States trade deal as the ninth round of negotiations kicks off in New York.

Almost two years since its launch, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) remains controversial. Plans for some kind of formalised transatlantic trade deal have circulated for years but have failed to secure political buy-in. The current proposal, launched during the Irish EU presidency in 2013, is the latest attempt to formalise a bilateral trade agreement between the world’s two largest trading blocs.

TTIP does not involve a significant reduction in tariffs – levies on goods traded between the EU and US are already close to zero. Rather, its focus is on “non-tariff” barriers that exist between the two blocs, such as the divergent regulatory regimes and the opening up of services and procurement markets.

For fans of TTIP this means a logical streamlining of standards on everything from food to pharmaceuticals that will lead to a welcome reduction in costs for consumers and businesses. For detractors it means a drastic sacrificing of standards at the altar of big business.

Public resistance is strongest in countries such as Germany and Austria. Last weekend, Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's economy minister, warned of overpromising on the possible economic boost from a deal. Cautioning against "voodoo economics" when calculating the benefits of a deal, he repeated his opposition to the inclusion of an investor state dispute-settlement mechanism, which would allow companies challenge certain government decisions.

Mindful of public opinion, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president François Hollande have been notably quiet in their public comments on the trade pact, something that worries officials in Brussels.

As EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told The Irish Times last month, it falls to member states to communicate the benefits of the trade deal to their citizens. Not surprisingly, the commission strongly applauded the Government's public backing of the deal at last month's TTIP event in Dublin Castle, which highlighted the estimated economic benefits to Ireland.

A key player in the negotiations is the European Parliament. The trade deal features heavily on this week's agenda at the parliament, with MEPs from various committees debating and voting on the issue. While the international trade committee is the lead committee on the TTIP proposal, 14 other parliamentary committees are working in parallel, producing opinions on its impact in their respective subject areas.

This week sees six of the committees – environment, agriculture, culture, petitions and constitutional and legal affairs – debate and vote on those opinions, with the committee on international trade due to produce the draft text by the end of the May. Almost 900 amendments have been made to the draft.

The parliament is scheduled to vote on the resolution at the plenary session in Strasbourg in June. While this resolution will be nonlegislative, the ratification of any trade deal would need the approval of the parliament, which has co-decision powers in the area of trade.

Ireland's MEPS have taken a robust stance on the TTIP proposal at committee stage. While the four Fine Gael MEPs are broadly in favour of the trade deal, the Independents and Sinn Féin have raised serious questions. Independent MEP Nessa Childers is hosting a seminar on the topic tomorrow at the European Parliament offices in Dublin, following a similar event organised by Sinn Féin's MEPs in December.

Scepticism from the left is reflected in the trade union movement, with Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Patricia King warning workplace and consumer rights could be "driven down to the lowest common denominator".

The Green Party has also criticised the Government’s stance, while EU ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has taken a lead role in the TTIP debate in Brussels, urging greater transparency, a call largely heeded by the commission, which has published more negotiating documents.

The emergence of a serious debate on TTIP in Ireland is welcome. As the largest trade deal negotiated by the EU, the impact on citizens, consumers and businesses will be enormous. Informing citizens of the advantages and potential drawbacks of an EU-US trade deal will be crucially important over the coming months as the various EU institutions begin to formulate their official position on TTIP.