There is still uncertainty hanging over trade relations between the European Union and the United States. This was the conclusion reached at the meeting of European trade ministers held in Brussels on Friday 9 November.
European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström briefed ministers on the state of progress of work initiated by the executive working group created after the meeting between Presidents Juncker and Trump in Washington on 25 July last (see EUROPE 12071).
According to the European institution, significant progress was made on the subject of regulatory cooperation according to the terms of the July declaration. The idea is to close the gap between European and US legislations in a series of areas, in order to facilitate trade.
Progress concerns certificates of compliance, medical devices, mutual recognition for pharmaceutical products and new standards for new technologies.
No farming but ...
Malmström reiterated: “We are not going to negotiate agriculture”.
Europeans nonetheless trust that two other issues relating to agri-food will be able to meet the American appetite.
Targeted first and foremost are negotiations aimed at revising the working of a quota for imports of high quality beef or veal, not treated with growth hormones (see EUROPE 12124). Talks, which were initiated on 23 October, are said to be well on track towards a successful conclusion: the United States would obtain at least half of the existing tariff quota of 45,000 tonnes.
Secondly, some regulations could be the subject of normative rapprochement when the levels of protection are similar. “There are some things for which the levels of certification are very close, where there is really no controversy and, where that is the case, we can perhaps do something”, Malmström told the press.
Timetables not compatible
In July, Americans and Europeans agreed to work together towards an agreement focused on industrial products other than motor vehicles.
Early October, the Trump administration informed the Congress of its intention to negotiate with the European Union, inter alia. In line with the provisions of the American Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), the mandate from Congress will not be obtained until January.
With a view to negotiating a free trade agreement, the Union must, for its part, begin with a “scoping exercise” for a possible agreement. That exercise forms the base for the draft Commission mandate.
“From our point of view, we are ready to start the scoping”, Malmström said before the meeting. The United States, however, is still not allowing this exploratory exercise to begin. “We are going to explore (next week) how to move about this”, added Malmström, who is to meet her American counterpart, Robert Lighthizer, in Washington on Wednesday 14 November.
It will then be up to the Council of the EU to grant a mandate to the Commission. This stage, for which the duration is uncertain, will depend on the content of the draft of negotiation directives.
Nonetheless, pessimism prevails at the European Parliament regarding the chances of escaping new American sanctions, this time on motor vehicles.
Regarding statements made by US Secretary for Trade Wilbur Ross, the new US Ambassador with the EU, Gordon Sondland, and given a number of developments in the United States, “I expect customs duties to soon be in place”, commented Bernd Lange (S&D, Germany), who chairs the committee on international trade at the European Parliament, when speaking earlier this week. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)