Brussels, 10/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - Three quarters of the gains from the TTIP negotiations would come from lifting non-trade barriers, states EU association of unions and agricultural cooperatives, Copa-Cogeca.
While the European Commission and US administration were moving forward on 10 February to the first exchange of tariff offers on agricultural and industrial products as part of the negotiations for a transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP), Copa-Cogeca stated the importance of lifting non-tariff barriers. “Agreement on regulatory convergence is key to the success of the free-trade talks”, said Copa-Cogeca Secretary General Pekka Pesonen on his return from a trip to Washington. He also underlined respect for the strict European standards on production which ban the use of hormones and other growth promoters in meat production, as they do the use of chlorine in treating chickens. (EH/transl.fl)