Brussels, 07/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - The partial paralysis of US government staff is forcing Washington to renounce sending its delegation of experts to Brussels this week.
Scheduled in Brussels for 7-11 October, the second round of negotiations for the transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP) has been postponed due to the partial paralysis of US government staff - the “shutdown”. US Trade Representative Michael Froman told European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht this weekend that the US administration was not able to send a delegation to Brussels this week. The US party has committed to keeping De Gucht informed of the possibility for resuming the negotiations “as soon as possible”. The cancellation of next week's negotiation round in Brussels is clearly unfortunate but let me underline that it in no way distracts us from our overall aim of achieving an ambitious trade and investment deal between Europe and the US”, said De Gucht.
The parties have agreed to advance on a technical level on the regulatory chapter in order to submit a first package of proposals to those politically responsible in January 2014. The EU and US are aiming at mutual recognition of their regulatory system in several key sectors, De Gucht said last week, after a meeting with Froman. The EU side is particularly targeting the automobile sector, the health and phytosanitary sectors, and financial services.
Friends of the Earth Europe on the look-out. “The negotiations were put on hold” but the risk remains, said the environmental NGO Friends of the Earth Europe on 7 October,. It is concerned at the threats the TTIP represents for social and environmental standards and the protection of consumers. “Decision-makers on both sides of the Atlantic now have extra thinking time and they need to realise that an EU-US trade deal can only help get us out of the economic and climate crises if it has the interests of people and the planet at its heart. Big corporations will undoubtedly be using this delay to continue lobbying for weaker standards, especially on issues related to food, agriculture, chemicals and energy. Our health and safety must not be traded away for an agreement that would mainly profit big corporations or limit states' ability to regulate”, Friends of the Earth Europe states. (EH/transl.fl)