The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): The US Congress’s Positions

The US Congress is mandated by the US Constitution to exercise a regulatory and oversight role in international trade. It also has a role to play in negotiating external trade agreements, exercising its oversight, legislative and advisory functions. To date, the Congress has played an active role in the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), overseeing the negotiations, gathering the views of key stakeholders during hearings and events it has organised, and flagging issues it considers politically important. While the US Congress has been broadly supportive of the negotiations, there appears to be no political consensus at the moment on the key issues under consideration, including the potential desirability and likely impact of the measures under discussion. Contentious issues include agriculture, intellectual property rights, regulatory cooperation and the EU’s access to the US public procurement and energy markets.