Removing so-called technical barriers to trade is a critical aspect of contemporary deep integration trade agreements. Yet, these barriers – standards, regulations, conformity assessment procedures – form a set of institutional complementarities, named technical infrastructure, which performs a central role for the functioning of integrated markets. Drawing on evidence from the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) the paper illustrates that this contradiction reduced the negotiators' bargaining leeway. Changing a technical infrastructure comes at the risk of undermining its effectiveness. Therefore, each party could only offer an unacceptable compromise: Transforming the other's technical infrastructure towards one's own technical infrastructure.

中文翻译：

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深度融合下传统谈判的局限性：TTIP 绊倒技术贸易壁垒

消除所谓的贸易技术壁垒是当代深度一体化贸易协定的一个关键方面。然而，这些障碍——标准、法规、合格评定程序——形成了一套制度互补性，称为技术基础设施，在整合市场的运作中发挥着核心作用。该文件利用跨大西洋贸易和投资伙伴关系 (TTIP) 的证据表明，这种矛盾减少了谈判者的讨价还价余地。改变技术基础设施存在削弱其有效性的风险。因此，每一方只能提出一个不可接受的妥协：将对方的技术基础设施改造为自己的技术基础设施。