Brussels, 16/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - EU Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier is calling for financial services to be included in transatlantic trade talks.
“The EU is committed to including financial services regulation in this growth and leadership agenda”, said Barnier at the Brooking Institution in Washington on Monday 15 July, commenting on the upcoming trade talks between the EU and the US.
Barnier explained: “The EU is committed to including financial services regulation in this growth and leadership agenda. And our discussions and recent agreement on swaps is the best example why regulation of financial services must be included” in trade relations (see EUROPE 10886). “Our discussions on swaps have shown that regulatory barriers can block trade outright. Make it too expensive to be viable. Fragment global markets. Or just act as a drag on overall economic efficiency. And raise costs for Main Street companies, not just Wall Street banks”.
Bloomberg says the Commissioner expressed the same views at a recent meeting with Jacob J. Lew, secretary at the US treasury. (MB/transl.fl)