Brussels, 11/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - The presentation of recommendations on transatlantic free trade negotiations is imminent. Ireland, the United Kingdom and the European Commission have great expectations.
European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht and his American counterpart, Trade Representative Ron Kirk, are due to deliver their recommendations by the end of January on the feasibility of an EU-US free trade agreement. The document was initially due to be delivered by the end of 2012.
The interim report given in June clearly demarcated the field of future negotiations, highlighting a wide range of possible options for expanding transatlantic trade and investment including: - the removal or reduction of conventional barriers to trade in goods (tariffs and tariff quotas), and the removal, reduction or prevention of obstacles to trade in services and investment; - possibilities for strengthening the compatibility of regulations and standards; - the removal, reduction or prevention of non-tariff barriers behind the border.
Ireland took over the reins of the EU Presidency on 1 January and, speaking through its Prime Minister Enda Kenny, did not hide its excitement at the prospect of starting free trade negotiations with the United States - despite much sensitivity on the agricultural thread. “These negotiations have enormous potential”, Kenny said when he welcomed President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy to Dublin on 10 January. Taoiseach Kenny also said that he hoped the Council would grant a negotiation mandate to the Commission under Irish presidency.
British Prime Minister David Cameron also made free trade negotiations between the EU and the United States a key priority for his presidency of the G8 in 2013. In a letter to his counterparts in the club of the eight most industrialised countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom), Cameron said that Europe and the United States represent a third of the world's trade and that it would be invaluable to start negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and the United States. The agreement is not a matter for the G8 however, and Cameron's position in Europe is weakened by domestic debate in the United Kingdom on the country's belonging to the EU (see other article). The Lough Erne region (Northern Ireland) will host the G8 summit in June.
In the Commission's view, negotiation of an ambitious free trade agreement with the United States would be “the best option for the EU”. In an internal note to its staff, the Commission stated that “there is a clear-cut case” for starting free trade negotiations as “the preferred option”, in comparison with the other two options - no policy change at all, or tariff, services or procurement only agreements. A comprehensive agreement between the EU and the United States would furthermore contribute to raising world income by €325 billion, including €86 billion in third countries. Such an initiative would contribute substantially to the recovery of the global economy - an economy that is plunged into one of the biggest recessions in its history. A full trade agreement between the EU and the United States, where bilateral trade already reaches €3.8 trillion per year and supports 15 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, would enable the EU and United States to confront the rapid growth of emerging economies like China, the Commission notes. (EH/transl.fl)