T he Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) is a potential reciprocal free trade agree ment that the United States and the European Union (EU) are negotiating with each other. Formal negotiations commenced in July 2013. Agricultural imports from Europe currently exceed U.S. exports to the EU. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the EU's import tariffs on U.S. agricultural products average well above U.S. tariffs on EU agricultural products. Agricultural Issues in the Negotiation

The United States is among the world's largest net exporters of agricultural products, averaging more than $140 billion per year (2010-2015) worldwide. The EU is a leading export market for U.S. agricultural exports—absorbing roughly 10% of exports—and is ranked as the fifth largest market for U.S. food and farm exports. In recent years, however, growth in U.S. agricultural exports to the EU has not kept pace with growth in trade to other U.S. markets, and imports from Europe currently exceed U.S. exports to the EU. In 2015, U.S. exports of agricultural products to the EU totaled $12 billion, while EU exports of agricultural products totaled $20 billion, resulting in a substantial trade deficit of nearly $8 billion for the United States. This reverses the net trade surplus in U.S. agricultural exports during the early 1990s (see Figure 1 ). These statistics include data for all current 28 EU member states, including the United Kingdom (covering England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), which voted in June 2016 to exit the EU (referred to as "Brexit"). Studies of Potential Trade Gains

A USDA study reports that removing tariffs and tariff rate quotas (TRQs) in U.S.-EU trade could have increased U.S. agricultural exports to the EU by an estimated $5.5 billion, measured against a 2011 base year. EU exports to the United States are also estimated to be higher by $0.8 billion compared to the study's 2011 base year ( Table 1 ). USDA further reports that removing selected non-tariff barriers, in addition to removing tariffs and TRQs in U.S.-EU trade, could increase U.S. agricultural exports to the EU by an additional estimated $4.1 billion annually (measured against a 2011 base year). TRQs on agricultural products are also a concern for U.S. exporters. Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade

High tariff barriers are further exacerbated by additional non-tariff barriers that may limit U.S. agricultural exports, including SPS measures and other types of non-tariff barriers. Non-tariff barriers affect agricultural trade in various ways, including delays in reviews of biotech products (creating barriers to U.S. exports of grain and oilseed products), prohibitions on growth hormones in beef production and certain antimicrobial and pathogen reduction treatments (creating barriers to U.S. meat and poultry exports), and burdensome and complex certification requirements (creating barriers to U.S. processed foods, animal products, and dairy products). U.S. businesses report concerns about the lack of a science-based focus in establishing SPS measures, difficulty meeting food safety standards and obtaining product certification, differences across countries in food labeling requirements, and stringent testing requirements that are often applied inconsistently across EU member nations. Regulatory differences between the United States and EU have likely contributed to some long-standing trade disputes regarding SPS and TBT rules between the two trading blocs. These goals include to:
eliminate or reduce non-tariff barriers that decrease opportunities for U.S. exports, provide a competitive advantage to products of the EU, or otherwise distort trade, such as unwarranted SPS restrictions that are not based on science, unjustified TBT restrictions, and other "behind-the-border" barriers, including the restrictive administration of tariff-rate quotas and permit and licensing barriers, which impose unnecessary costs and limit competitive opportunities for U.S. exports; achieve greater compatibility of U.S. and EU regulations and related standards development processes (while maintaining health, safety and environmental protection), with the objective of reducing costs associated with unnecessary regulatory differences and facilitating trade, inter alia by promoting transparency in the development and implementation of regulations and good regulatory practices, establishing mechanisms for future progress, and pursuing regulatory cooperation initiatives where appropriate; build on key principles and disciplines of the TBT agreement through strong cross-cutting disciplines and, as appropriate, sectoral approaches to achieve meaningful market access and establish ongoing mechanisms for improved dialogue and cooperation on TBT issues; build on key principles and disciplines of the SPS agreement to achieve meaningful market access, including commitments to base SPS measures on science and international standards or scientific risk assessments; apply them only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health; develop such measures in a transparent manner without undue delay; and establish an ongoing mechanism for improved dialogue and cooperation addressing bilateral SPS issues. In the T-TIP negotiation, GIs have been an active area of debate between the United States and EU. For more information on the protection of GIs in the United States, see CRS Report R44556, Geographical Indications in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) Negotiations .
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) is a potential reciprocal free trade agreement being negotiated between the United States and the European Union (EU). Formal negotiations began in July 2013. Through the negotiations, both sides are seeking to liberalize transatlantic trade and investment, set globally relevant rules and disciplines that could boost economic growth, support multilateral trade liberalization through the World Trade Organization (WTO), and address third-country trade policy challenges. Agricultural issues have been an active topic of debate in the negotiations, given the potential market access gains for both sides and the potential to address a series of regulatory and intellectual property rights issues.
The United States is among the world's largest net exporters of agricultural products. The EU is an important export market for U.S. agricultural exports and ranks as the fifth largest market for U.S. food and farm exports. However, in recent years, growth in U.S. agricultural exports to the EU has not kept pace with growth in trade to other U.S. markets, and imports from Europe currently exceed U.S. exports to the EU. In 2015, U.S. exports of agricultural products to the EU totaled $12 billion, while EU exports of agricultural products to the United States totaled $20 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of nearly $8 billion for the United States and reversing the net trade surplus in U.S. agricultural exports to the EU during the 1990s. (These statistics include data for all current 28 EU member states, including the United Kingdom, which voted in June 2016 to leave the EU, a process that could take many years.)
Addressing market access for U.S. agricultural exports to the EU is among the major goals of the T-TIP negotiation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that the EU's average agricultural tariff is 30%, well above the average U.S. agricultural tariff of 12%. Restrictive tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on agricultural products are also a concern for U.S. exporters. A USDA study reports that removing tariffs and TRQs could increase U.S. agricultural exports to the EU by an estimated $5.5 billion (compared to a 2011 base year). EU exports to the United States are estimated to rise by $0.8 billion. These totals cover all current 28 EU member states.
High tariff barriers are further exacerbated by additional non-tariff barriers that may limit U.S. agricultural exports. Addressing non-tariff barriers is another major goal of the U.S. agricultural sectors in the negotiation, covering certain sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) concerns. These include delays in reviews of biotech products (limiting U.S. exports of grain and oilseed products), prohibitions on growth hormones in beef production and certain antimicrobial and pathogen reduction treatments (limiting U.S. meat and poultry exports), and burdensome and complex certification requirements (limiting U.S. exports of processed foods, animal products, and dairy products). As such, T-TIP negotiations on agricultural products are conditioned by a number of these long-standing, high-profile transatlantic trade disputes between the United States and EU. Other EU regulations of concern to U.S. exporters include lack of a science-based focus in establishing SPS measures, difficulty meeting food safety standards and obtaining product certification, lack of cohesive labeling requirements, and stringent testing requirements that are often applied inconsistently across EU member nations. USDA reports that removing select non-tariff barriers affecting meats, field crops, and fruits and vegetables could raise U.S. exports to the EU by an additional $4.1 billion over gains estimated from removing tariffs and TRQs (compared to a 2011 base year) across all current 28 EU member states.
Other U.S. concerns involve the EU's use of geographical indications (GIs)—certain protected product names that many U.S. food producers consider to be generic names. Further complicating negotiations regarding GIs are underlying regulatory and administrative differences between the United States and the EU in how each addresses GIs within their respective borders.