ABSTRACT
As the US and the EU continue their negotiations towards a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), key questions arise concerning the rules for accession for countries that are not parties to these talks and whether third parties are likely to avail themselves of any such rules. Senior officials on both sides of the Atlantic have argued that TTIP should set the standards for global commerce in the twenty-first century – with the not-so-subtle implication that third parties will ultimately have to sign up to these rules. Assumptions, it seems, are being made as to the TTIP-induced incentives faced by third parties.
