Brussels, 09/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - The first round of negotiations is especially a case of the chief negotiators and different industry groups taking the pulse.
In Washington on 8 July, the EU and US kicked off negotiations for a transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) in a climate that was overshadowed by the affair of American espionage on the European institutions.
The first round of discussions was officially opened on Monday by the US trade representative, Michael Froman, and the chief European negotiator, Ignacio Garcia Becero. This warm up round will terminate on 12 July with a joint press conference.
As well as the plenary session led by the negotiators in chief, negotiating groups tackled issues on Monday of investment, public procurement, cross-border services, textiles, rules of origin, energy and raw materials, and legal questions. On Tuesday, the negotiating groups were due to hold a fresh exchange of views on the issues of public procurement, cross-border services, investment, and energy, and to tackle chapters on sanitary and phytosanitary measures, on market access to industrial goods and also on work and the environment.
The objective of the TTIP is ambitious - as well as the removal of customs duties that are already very low, the EU and US want to bring their standards and regulatory practices more into line. “We have the opportunity to complement one of the greatest alliances of all time”, Froman state on Monday. On the sidelines of a meeting in Geneva, European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht reiterated his optimism on Monday about the gains of an agreement for growth and jobs in a Europe which is in a slump, and gains also for the whole global economy. “We will work hard to get a result. We will of course meet a lot of problems and stumbling stones, but if we reach an agreement, it would be a historic one”, De Gucht said, without asserting the objective of an agreement by the end of 2014 - in other words by the end of his mandate. The EU and US are especially expected to run into difficulties on the agricultural chapter and that on public procurement. “We need to resist the temptation to downsize our ambitions or avoid tough issues just for the sake of getting a deal. So, be creative, and think outside the box as necessary to make progress”, Froman said in a message to the negotiating groups during a plenary session on Monday. (EH/transl.fl)