EU publishes initial TTIP position papers
Brussels, 16 July 2013
EU publishes initial TTIP Position Papers
The EU is committed to providing a maximum of information possible for the public, the media, and the many stakeholders as we move through the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiation. We are very conscious that this is the EU’s largest ever bilateral trade negotiation.
That is why we are taking the unprecedented step of making available to the public a number of the EU’s initial position papers on various aspects of the negotiations. The papers are the technical documents that we presented to our American counterparts during the first negotiating round that took place from 8 to 12 July 2013 in Washington.
They cover the following areas:
• Cross-cutting & institutional provisions on regulatory issues
• Technical barriers to trade
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (i.e. barriers to trade in food and agricultural products)
• Public Procurement
• Raw materials and energy
• Trade and sustainable development
We may release further papers in the future, particularly in relation to specific areas of regulatory cooperation. For the moment, ideas proposed by stakeholders 
in these areas are still being analysed and discussed with regulatory authorities.
In all of this, the Commission’s guiding concern is and will continue to be to ensure that the public receives the most comprehensive information possible.
For more information on transparency in the EU bilateral negotiations and handling of TTIP negotiating documents, please see the factsheet on transparency in the EU bilateral negotiations and an EU letter sent to the US Chief Trade Negotiators in this regard.
