EU-US trade deal talks to go into 2016
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TALKS between the European Union and the United States on a transatlantic trade accord will stretch into 2016, the EU’s chief negotiator said yesterday, adding that the discussions were about to enter a “more difficult” and “intense” stage.
This year is seen as crucial in making progress on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), with the US presidential election set for 2016 and President Barack Obama leaving office in January 2017.
Nothing has been agreed so far and hopes of a rapid deal are low.
“At this point in time, I don’t want to rule in or rule out anything in terms of what is possible before the end of this year,” the EU’s chief negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero said in Berlin.
“But it is clear that a completion of the negotiations, a conclusion of the agreement, that is something that will require more time than 2015,” he said, adding that he did not believe the forthcoming US election campaign would derail the talks.
“The United States has been telling us very clearly that they can continue negotiating with us in 2016.”
Obama has called for trade talks with Europe to make major progress this year following an agreement on trade promotion authority in Congress.
One of the major stumbling blocks for the deal, which seeks to reduce trade barriers and harmonize regulations, is an investor protection clause wanted by the Americans.
Many in Europe fear US multinationals will use a so-called investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism to challenge Europe’s food, labor and environmental laws on the grounds that these restrict free commerce.
Talks on ISDS have been suspended since last year. But Bercero signaled the European Commission was gearing up to set out its suggestion on how the mechanism could be reformed.
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