Brussels, 11/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - Before flying to Nairobi, where they are due to take part in the 10th ministerial conference of the WTO next week, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and US Trade Representative Mike Froman agreed at a bilateral meeting in Brussels on Friday 11 December to step up the negotiations process in 2016 - both on the political and technical level - for a transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement (TTIP).
“The European Union and the United States have made considerable progress towards a transatlantic trade and investment partnership agreement in the past year, notably since the G7 Elmau summit in June, when we agreed to accelerate work on all elements of the agreement. We are fully committed to expeditiously reaching an ambitious, comprehensive agreement that promotes economic growth and jobs, strengthens our strategic partnership, and reflects our shared values”, they said in a joint press release.
Malmström and Froman agreed on Friday to step up work in 2016 in order to accelerate the negotiations. This will be done through strengthened intersessional work, frequent formal negotiating rounds, and increased minister-level consultations.
Their joint statement does not mention any date by which they hope to close the negotiations, but both parties have made their desire known over recent months to finalise an agreement before the current Obama administration comes to the end of its term at the end of 2016.
“This is possible, but much remains to be done. The most important thing is for it to be a good agreement. If it is not finished by next December, we will have to make a break and wait for the next US administration”, Malmström said in a radio interview at the start of the week.
The TTIP negotiations entered a more political phase at the 11th round of talks in Miami in October, where the parties exchanged their revised tariff offers (see EUROPE 11417). Revised offers on government procurement are expected to be exchanged at the next formal round in early 2016.
In October, the EU also sent the US side the European proposals on sustainable development (see EUROPE 11426) and on a reformed approach to investment protection and a new more transparent system for dispute settlement between investors and states (see EUROPE 11429).
The European Commission also published a detailed 22-page report on 6 November, which is intended for the public and explains in detail what was discussed at the 11th round of TTIP negotiations, as regards each of the 24 chapters of TTIP - their constitutive elements and the progress made. The report is available online at: http://goo.gl/YSm4zL (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)