Brussels, 14/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - With transatlantic negotiations facing increasing hostility, the negotiators have stressed the benefits of the future agreement for SMEs.
The press conferences of the TTIP chief negotiators, Ignacio Garcia Bercero for Europe, and Dan Mullaney for the US, come one after the other and with little to tell them apart. The one on Friday which concluded the fourth round of negotiations, held in Brussels from 10 to 14 March, was no exception to the rule - both spoke of “regular progress” on the three pillars of the agreement, of their continuing willingness to find innovative solutions in all areas in which negotiations become blocked, and of their assurances that the reduction of obstacles to trade and costs will not be achieved at the cost of the protection of consumers, employment rights and the environment.
On market access, progress has been “constant” in the three areas of negotiation - tariff liberalisation, for which the parties carried out an exchange of offers in early February, services and public procurement. On the latter two planks, “the negotiators looked at how we can proceed towards an exchange of offers”, Bercero explained. On the tariff plank, not much more is known for the time being, but it is already no secret that the Commission feels that the American offer is considerably less ambitious than the EU's offer. One thing, however, is certain: there will be no exemptions, even for sensitive products.
On the regulatory chapter, the negotiators were joined by a cohort of experts and by the regulators of both sides to discuss the coherence and improvement of regulatory compatibility, technical obstacles to trade (already the subject of written proposals) and the sanitary and phytosanitary chapter (which will be the subject of written proposals in the fullness of time). The parties also continued to explore ways of ensuring greater regulatory compatibility in certain key sectors - pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, medical devices, automotives and chemicals.
On the rules, the talks focused on three areas in which the negotiators are developing innovative approaches - sustainable development, employment and the environment; trade in energy and raw materials; customs and trade facilitation.
On Friday, Bercero and Mullaney laid particular emphasis on the joint commitment to make the TTIP accessible and profitable for SMEs. The Commission and the US government published a document on the same day, boasting the advantages of the TTIP for SMEs.
Lastly, the two negotiators-in-chief stressed their intentions of increasing the involvement of civil society in the negotiations. On 12 March, the two negotiating teams interacted with 90 representatives from the world of business, consumers, unions and environmental NGOs.
A fifth round of negotiations will be held in Washington before the summer. (EH)