scholarly journals Wheeling and dealing behind closed doors: estimating the causal effect of transparency on policy evaluations using a survey experiment

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Juhl ◽  
David Hilpert
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade And Investment

Abstract The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the US is highly technical. Still, the negotiations triggered large-scale protests among citizens with very diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Why has a complex issue such an enormous mobilizing effect although the economic consequences are either unclear or favorable for the participating economies? We argue that the transparency of negotiations is an important consideration for people evaluating the negotiation outcome. Conducting a survey experiment, we show that non-transparent decision-making decreases citizens' appraisal of the agreement independent of its outcome: A non-transparent negotiation is, on average, almost 16 percent less likely to find public approval than a transparent but otherwise identical agreement. Our findings have important implications for democratic decision-making.

scholarly journals Missing in Action? France and the Politicization of Trade and Investment Agreements

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 312-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Meunier ◽  
Christilla Roederer-Rynning
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
The Us ◽  
Missing In Action ◽  
Changing Attitudes ◽  
Investment Agreements ◽  
Trade And Investment

Negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union (EU) and the United States (US) and for the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada have provoked massive mobilization throughout Europe, both on the streets and online. Yet France, long at the epicenter of anti-globalization and anti-Americanism, has played a surprisingly modest role in the mobilization campaign against these agreements. This article asks why France did not contribute to anti-TTIP mobilization and, more broadly, how patterns of French mobilization over trade have changed over the past two decades. Using comparative-historical analysis, we explore to what extent this puzzling French reaction can be traced to changing attitudes towards the US, agenda-shaping by the French government, and transformations in the venues and techniques of social mobilization. We thus contribute to the growing literature on the politicization of trade agreements and offer insights into the links between domestic and international politics.

Attitudes towards the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership in the European Union: The treaty partner heuristic and issue attention

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils D Steiner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
The Us ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
Policy Proposals ◽  
European Union Member States ◽  
Trade And Investment

Why has the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partisanship met with strong public resistance among some Europeans and in some European Union member states, but not in others? This article argues that one important perspective to explain the pattern of support for TTIP is the role of heuristic opinion formation and issue attention. Analysing multiple waves of Eurobarometer data, I find that views of the two treaty partners, the US and the European Union, shape attitudes towards TTIP and that the largely post-materialist concerns over TTIP resonated specifically in those European countries whose citizens’ attention was less focused on economic issues. In showing how opinions towards concrete real-world trade policy proposals are shaped by the political context, these findings complement previous research on citizens’ general stances towards trade.

EUROPEAN FISCAL RULES AS A LIABILITY IN THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE CONFLICT: LESSONS FROM NiGEM SIMULATIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 254 ◽  
pp. R54-R66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Dullien ◽  
Sabine Stephan ◽  
Thomas Theobald
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
European Union ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trump Administration

Under the Trump administration, a transatlantic trade conflict has been escalating step by step. First, it was about tariffs on steel and aluminium, then about retaliation for the French digital tax, which is suspended until the end of the year. Most recently, the US administration threatened the European Union with tariffs on cars and car parts because of Canadian seafood being subject to lower import duties. As simulations with NiGEM show, a further escalation of the transatlantic trade conflict has the potential to slow down economic growth significantly in the countries involved. This is a considerable risk given the fact that the countries have to cope with the enormous negative effects of the pandemic shock. Furthermore, the damage caused by the trade conflict depends on the extent to which the affected countries use fiscal policy to stabilise their economies.

Negotiating 21st Century Rules on Energy: What Is at Stake for the European Union, the United States and the BRICS?

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 415-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Espa ◽  
Kateryna Holzer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
Energy Trade ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
The Eu

Abstract In the context of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the European Union (EU) has taken the lead in promoting the inclusion of a specific chapter on energy trade and investment in order to enhance energy security and promote renewable energy. Irrespective of the success of the TTIP negotiations, the EU proposal can contribute to developing multilateral rules on energy trade and investment. This is especially important given the increased number of energy disputes filed by the EU and the United States against other leading energy market players, including the BRICS. This article provides a normative analysis of the new rules proposed by the EU and reflects on potential responses of BRICS energy regulators. It argues that, while these rules are unlikely to immediately affect BRICS energy practices, they may eventually be ‘imported’ in BRICS domestic jurisdictions in order to promote renewable energy and attract investment in energy infrastructure.

scholarly journals Venus, Mars, and Brussels: Legitimacy and Dispute Settlement Culture in Investment Law and WTO Law: A Response to Joost Pauwelyn

AJIL Unbound ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 309-315
Author(s):  
Robert Howse
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Space ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
Philip Morris ◽  
Tobacco Regulation ◽  
Investor Protections ◽  
Trade And Investment

Late last year, the European Commission unveiled an ambitious and complex proposal to replace investor-state arbitration with a transnational court, including an appellate instance, which has now been incorporated into its new bilateral agreements with Vietnam and Canada (CETA). The Commission was responding to strong public resistance to including investor protections in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), the trade and investment agreement being negotiated between the European Union and the United States. This resistance reflects a remarkable shift in emphasis from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the investment regime in what could be called loosely the antineoliberal globalization movement. The overarching concern is that international decision-makers with a neoliberal or procorporate bias will limit the policy space of sovereign states, especially in sensitive areas such as public services, the environment, health, and safety. While it is arguable that few of the actual outcomes in investor-state disputes can properly be understood in this way, the pursuit by Philip Morris of its attack on tobacco regulation through the investment regime has certainly provided a very obvious example for the activists. (The defeat of that challenge on jurisdictional grounds doesn’t really provide assurance about the substantive norms at issue and their consistency with policy space.)

ECJ ruling further dims EU-US data protection outlook

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Data Storage ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
Data Flows ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
The Eu

Significance The ECJ ruling could add to potential disruptions to transatlantic commercial data flows arising from the EU's developing data protection regime that a study for the US Chamber of Commerce valued at 0.8-1.3% of EU GDP. The ruling weakens the United States in negotiations over the new EU regime, as well as over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Impacts The ruling may bolster development of EU-based cloud facilities as EU users seek to avoid the risks of US-based data storage. This could reduce US firms' estimated 76% share of the EU cloud market. It would also lead to further fragmentation of the internet as a global resource.

scholarly journals Transcontinental Partnerships at the Crossroads: Factors, Risks, Consequences

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 54-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liudmila F. Lebedeva
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Financial Regulation ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Leadership Role ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade And Investment

Transcontinental partnerships – Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TATIP) – have been analyzed in view of the new challenges in polycentric world, US foreign economic policy changes, risks for the national economies of the block’s participants, as well as for the other countries. The TPP and the TATIP are in focus as the new stage of the world integration process. The TATIP can deepen the already substantial economic ties between the US and the European Union. But what will be included in the chapters of the agreement on financial services, agricultural products, some other sectors is still subject to debate. Particular concerns arise about the role for the TATIP in harmonizing financial regulation. The practical implementation of president Donald Trump plans to «promote American industry, protect American workers» began with the US withdrawal from the TPP, with negotiating new bilateral trade deals in mind. Since that decision, the leaders of Japan, Singapore, Australia, and other TPP participants emphasized the strategic importance of this agreement for their countries and for US leadership in the region. Withdrawing from the TPP raises concerns among US trade partners and allies in the region and put many questions before them. Besides, US withdrawal from the TPP effectively gives green light to assert a more pronounced leadership role in the region for China, which is already a major trade and investment partner for TPP countries. Furthermore, Donald Trump turned attention to certain imports as a threat to national security and thus potentially subject to steep tariffs. The US steps in this way may undermine the rules-based trading system, and put many questions before TPP partners and other countries. Whether import restrictions for national security reasons be implemented, they may damage not only China as the main U.S. imports driver; but other countries as well, and lead to new barriers against US exports by trading partners. The Trump administration initiatives not only represents a challenge for countries that linked closely to the American economy due to the trade-economic agreements, but leads to new opportunities and choices in international economic relations.

EU-US TTIP talks are unlikely to progress

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Political ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transatlantic Trade ◽  
The Us ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Public Opposition

Subject The prospects for finalising TTIP. Significance While the EU as a whole -- the European Commission, most member states and a majority of members of the European Parliament (EP) -- appears to remain committed to a wide-ranging agreement with the United States, there are growing indications that public opposition may render the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement politically unviable. Impacts TTIP is estimated to raise the EU's GDP by 0.5%. European governments may decide that such a modest growth boost is not worth the political problems generated by the negotiations. If implemented, its terms could serve as a blueprint for future trade agreements between the EU and other countries. The deal's prospects will be diminished by the US election cycle's appeals to protectionist sentiment.

scholarly journals Expansion of US wood pellet industry points to positive trends but the need for continued monitoring

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco X. Aguilar ◽  
Ashkan Mirzaee ◽  
Ronald G. McGarvey ◽  
Stephen R. Shifley ◽  
Dallas Burtraw
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Wood Fibers ◽  
Wood Pellets ◽  
Wood Pellet ◽  
Growing Stock ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
The Us

Abstract Implementation of the European Union Renewable Energy Directive has triggered exponential growth in trading of pelletized wood fibers. Over 18 million tons of wood pellets were traded by EU member countries in 2018 of which a third were imported from the US. Concerns exist about negative impacts on US forests but systematic assessments are currently lacking. We assessed variability in fundamental attributes for timberland structure and carbon stocks within 123 procurement landscapes of wood pellet mills derived from over 38 thousand forest inventory plots in the eastern US from 2005 to 2017. We found more carbon stocks in live trees, but a fewer number of standing-dead trees, associated with the annual operation of large-scale wood pellet mills. In the US coastal southeast—where US pellet exports to the EU originate—there were fewer live and growing-stock trees and less carbon in soils with every year of milling operation than in the rest of the eastern US—which supplies the domestic market. Greater overlap of mills’ procurement areas exhibited discernible increments across selected carbon stocks. These trends likely reflect more intensive land management practices. Localized forest impacts associated with the wood pellet industry should continue to be monitored.

scholarly journals Application of Sustainability Principles for Harsh Environment Exploration by Autonomous Robot

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bausys ◽  
Cavallaro ◽  
Semenas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dynamic Decision Making ◽  
Autonomous Agent ◽  
Harsh Environment ◽  
Map Building ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Neutrosophic Sets ◽  
Environment Exploration ◽  
Sustainability Principles

Currently, the European Union (EU) is focusing on a large-scale campaign dedicated to developing a competitive circular economy and expanding the single digital market. One of the main goals of this campaign is the implementation of the sustainability principles in the development and deployment cycle of the new generation technologies. This paper focuses on the fast-growing field of autonomous mobile robots and the harsh environment exploration problem. Currently, most state-of-the-art navigation methods are utilising the idea of evaluating candidate observation locations by combining different task-related criteria. However, these map building solutions are often designed for operating in near-perfect environments, neglecting such factors as the danger to the robot. In this paper, a new strategy that aims to address the safety and re-usability of the autonomous mobile agent by implementing the economic sustainability principles is proposed. A novel multi-criteria decision-making method of Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment—Single-Valued Neutrosophic Sets, namely WASPAS-SVNS, and the weight selection method of Step-Wise Weights Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) are applied to model a dynamic decision-making system. The experimental evaluation of the proposed strategy shows that increased survivability of the autonomous agent can be observed. Compared to the greedy baseline strategy, the proposed method forms the movement path which orients the autonomous agent away from dangerous obstacles.

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