The basis for the negotiations is a joint negotiating mandate from the EU Member States. The German government, just like all the other national governments of the EU member states, was involved in the drafting of the negotiating mandate. In line with Germany’s clearly stated desire, the European Commission published the negotiating mandate on 9 October 2014.

• Click here to access the annotated version of the TTIP negotiating mandate (PDF: 98 KB; in German)
• Click here to access the TTIP negotiating mandate (non-annotated) (PDF: 576 KB; in German).

Status of the negotiations

In August 2016, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the state of play. Agreement had yet to be reached on any of the 27-30 chapters of the agreement at that time, although positions had moved closer together on some of them.

The stock-taking by the EU trade ministers also came to the conclusion that the negotiations could not be concluded whilst the Obama administration was still in office. The latest of 15 rounds so far took place in New York from 3 to 7 October 2016. The drafting work continued at technical level until January 2017 and a joint report was drawn up by the European Commission and the USTR to document the state-of-play of the negotiations. The talks were suspended in January 2017.

EU publishes draft texts and position papers

Regarding many chapters of the planned agreement, the European Commission has published both easy-to-understand 2-page factsheets and specific proposals for wordings which are being used in the negotiations with the U.S..

For example, after the twelfth round of negotiations, the European Commission published a revised proposal on regulatory cooperation between the EU and the U.S.. Also, since the 11th round of negotiations, the European Commission has provided detailed reports to the public in all the EU languages.

An ambitious agreement that would go well beyond cutting tariffs would serve consumers and companies in many different ways. This is why the German government favours such a far-reaching agreement. Despite the many years of efforts to liberalise world trade, many obstacles impeding free transatlantic trade in goods remain in place. Apart from tariffs, which have already been brought down to comparatively low levels, it is mostly non-tariff barriers to trade (such as differences in technical requirements for products) that drive up costs in trade relations between the EU and the U.S.. This is due to the fact that manufacturers have to produce two different versions of the same product to meet the respective requirements of the EU and the U.S. markets. And this is precisely what TTIP aims to change: TTIP would give us an opportunity to make rules and regulations for business in Europe and the U.S. more compatible in the long term. It is extremely important for the Federal Government to maintain the high level of protection for European consumers.

Lower tariffs, better coordination

A key objective of TTIP was to reduce tariffs. Studies have shown that a full reduction of tariffs could save German firms billions of euros, and greater coordination of regulations and standards is expected to provide even greater impetus. Greater coordination on standards, testing and authorisations could do away with an enormous amount of costs. Small and medium-sized enterprises in Germany which have often not been able to afford new certifications in the U.S. would particularly benefit from this.

SMEs in particular benefit from better coordination and simpler rules

Both trading areas already have very high standards for product safety, environmental and consumer protection. A large number of technical standards – e.g. in the automotive industry – are defined differently in the U.S. and the EU, but have the same objective. This applies, e.g. to the size of rear-view mirrors, the strength of metal sheets, the size and load-bearing capacity of rims, the procedure for measuring emissions and the assignment of authorisations. The recognition of equal standards or the abolition of duplicated licensing procedures that are comparable can achieve cost benefits and synergy effects here.

Aligning standards and procedures – without any loss of consumer protection

An important point for consumers: The EU will not repeal any of its basic laws on the protection of people, animals and the environment. Rather, various standards and procedures will be harmonised in any areas where bureaucratic barriers can be removed without reducing consumer protection. Public service provision will not be affected by TTIP either. The high level of protection for certain basic services at a local level in relation to water, health and education in Europe has never been not up for debate.

The German government’s view

The German government takes the view that special investment protection provisions are not required in an agreement between the EU and the U.S. as foreign investors in the U.S. and Germany enjoy sufficient legal protection through the national courts. The European Commission and several other EU Member States, however, want to include investment protection provisions in free trade agreements with industrialised countries such as Canada and the U.S..

The German government therefore believes that TTIP offers an opportunity to reform the existing investment protection system and to set a standard for modern investment protection and a more law-based, transparent dispute-settlement procedure with a public trade and investment court. Significant progress has already been made.

European Commission with new proposal on investment protection

In September 2015, the European Commission tabled a proposal for modern investment protection under TTIP. Much of this proposal goes back to initiatives taken by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Sweden. Following detailed discussions with the EU Member States and the European Parliament, the proposal was submitted to the U.S. on 12 November 2015 and published. On 27 November 2015, the EU Member States formally adopted Council Conclusions expressing their support for a modern and profoundly new investment-protection mechanism.

The proposed text for reformed investment protection is to form a basis not only for TTIP, but also for other agreements covering investment protection. For example, the afore-mentioned points have been included in the CETA free trade agreement, which was signed by the EU, the EU Member States and Canada at the end of October 2016. Besides this, it is to be the first step towards an International Trade and Investment Tribunal. The EU’s proposal for an investment chapter in TTIP can be found here.

The Federal Government attached great importance to the greatest possible transparency of the negotiations, including a lively democratic debate. A clear factual basis was needed to discuss the pros and cons of TTIP. The Economic Affairs Ministry has compiled the main assertions and facts (in German). In addition, the Federal Government has given the members of the Bundestag and the Bundesrat full access to the current state of negotiations. From 1 February 2016, the so-called consolidated negotiation texts could be viewed in a TTIP reading room at the Federal Economic Affairs Ministry. The staff of the government can also use the reading room.

Dialogue forums and initiatives organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

Since the beginning of the talks, the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy has been holding regular events to promote dialogue with citizens, NGOs, business associations, and trade unions, to inform them about the state of the negotiations and provide opportunities for objective discussions. The ministry also reported to the Bundestag and the Länder and supplied them with the relevant reports and information.

• TTIP Advisory Group at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

In May 2014, the TTIP Advisory Group, a body set up by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, convened for the first time. The group met to discuss the ongoing TTIP negotiations and helped to establish the German position for the TTIP agreement. The Advisory Group included representatives from trade unions, welfare, environmental and consumer associations and from the creative arts. As the negotiations between the EU and the U.S. have been suspended, no further meetings are planned.

• Dialogue forums organised by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy

The ministry’s dialogue and discussion forums provide opportunities for citizens, business representatives, trade unions and civil society organisations to state their views and ask questions related to TTIP, but also to discuss opportunities and challenges and address concerns.

Dialogue and consultation services of the European Commission

The European Commission has also been committed to keep the public, associations, NGOs, trade unions, and civil society groups fully informed about the negotiations on TTIP. Multiple consultations (e.g. on investment protection) have already been carried out in the lead-up to the negotiations at EU level. Furthermore, the European Commission has made position papers public and is conducting hearings during each round of negotiations. It has also been hosting various information events.

As part of its transparency initiative, the Commission has been publishing two-page fact sheets since February 2015; these cover the negotiating text presented by the U.S. negotiators and position papers on the issues up for negotiation. You can find out more about this here.

Clear position, comprehensive information

The Economic Affairs Ministry relied on transparency and dialogue. A clear factual basis was needed in order to discuss the pros and cons of TTIP. The Economic Affairs Ministry has drafted joint positions on TTIP with various players in society; these papers also discuss critical points.

• The joint paper (in German) (PDF, 30 KB) on TTIP published together with the Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) focuses mainly on sustainability, workers’ rights and public services.
• A joint paper (in German) (PDF, 210 KB) published together with the umbrella associations of the municipalities and the Association of Municipal Enterprises (VKU) makes the point that the high quality of public services must not be jeopardised by TTIP.
• The German government position paper (in German) (PDF, 210 KB) on the protection of culture and media in TTIP states clearly that TTIP must not undermine cultural and media diversity. The issue of retail price maintenance for books is a central focus of the dialogue with the German Publishers and Booksellers Association (in German) (PDF, 311 KB).
• The Economic Affairs Ministry’s joint paper (in German) (PDF, 63 KB) with the Federal Association of Non-Statutory Welfare (BABFW) outlines common positions on the protection of (not-for-profit) welfare services.
• The Economic Affairs Ministry’s joint position paper (in German) (PDF, 37 KB) with the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) makes it clear that TTIP will not affect recreational sport in Germany, the non-profit nature of registered associations, the current funding possibilities and the financial structures to benefit sport in Germany.