The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP): a threat or an opportunity for the EU-Mediterranean agriculture and agri-food sector? An exploratory survey

Abstract

Agricultural and food sectors are well-developed in both the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (US), highly productive and strongly protected. Over the last 50 years, much of the current regulations which have emerged does not interfere with abundantly transatlantic trade, while some subsegments of the markets are still subject to quantitative restrictions, import duties or regulatory barriers. For these reasons, agriculture and food-related issues have always played an important role in trade negotiations. In June 2013, the European Commission (EC) launched negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), an agreement that aims to remove barriers to trade and investment between the EU and the US. However, important political responsiveness, regulatory regimes heterogeneity in particular agri-food safety standards are still existing. Furthermore, the EU Member States are fairly heterogeneous as regards the relative importance of agri-food trade for their economies. The agri-food industries are of particular strategic interest for many governments. Changes in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and thus the Euro-Mediterranean zone have direct implications for farmers, consumer protection and for the animal welfare. The research question was, if the EU Mediterranean countries will benefit from the TTIP and what effects would the TTIP have on the CAP, agri-food quality standards and food safety? The present article attempts to investigate whether the TTIP negotiations and the CAP instruments and their adjustments improve the prospects that the Euro-Mediterranean regions can be food secure in the future and a sustainable development is possible as well as to ensure food safety.