LIMITS TO A POWER GAME: NEGOTIATING THE TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP IN AGRICULTURE AND FOOD

This article deals with the negotiations between the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, with a specific focus on agriculture and food. Drawing on the negotiations strategy/politics of international trade negotiations approach, it conceptualises the setting in terms of preferences, institutions and geopolitics, also paying particular attention to the EU's complex role as an actor. It argues that the EU and the USA, both being used to asymmetrical power politics in the past, took advantage of institutional constraints (EU) and geopolitics (USA) to strengthen their bargaining positions. However, since they faced equally powerful players the power game led to suboptimal outcomes in terms of narrowing the opportunity for an agreement.