eBook: A guide to understand the TTIP
The buzz surrounding the TTIP – the free-trade treaty that the US and the European Union started negotiating back in 2013 - keeps growing louder. While the name may already ring a bell for a majority of people, many may still be wondering what’s behind the acronym and how will it affect, for good or for bad, the Spanish economy and, by extension, our everyday lives.
We are publishing this eBook with the aim of shedding a bit more light on the issue, explain what the TTIP means, the myths and facts of the trade agreement, its potential impact on Spanish companies – especially on small and medium sized businesses – and its geostrategic implications and the current status of negotiations.
The book is a compendium of facts, figures and expert opinions. It starts with a video in which BBVA Executive Board Member and chairman for Europe of TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), José Manuel González-Páramo defines the agreement as a “way to stimulate activity and employment.” In his opinion, consumers and SMEs will be the greatest beneficiaries from the agreement. At a geopolitical level, he defines it as "the last great chance the West has be the one who sets the rules of international trade instead of the one who accepts them.”
The book also includes analyses by Julián Cubero, of BBVA Research; Federico Steinberg, of Real Instituto Elcano; Jochen Müller, of the European Commission Representation in Spain; and Tim Bennett, from the U.S. and Director-General of the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue. This book aspires to offer the most comprehensive picture about the TTIP, to help readers draw their own conclusions.