Negotiations to liberalise transatlantic trade will proceed "in stages", said EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström on Thursday 10 January in Washington.
"We have had good meetings - I’ve met several times with Ambassador Lighthizer this week - and we have made good progress", she commented about her two meetings with the U.S. Trade Representative during an intervention at the Atlantic Council (see other news).
"We feel the pressure of our presidents", she added, however, reflecting the urgency for the European Union to achieve early results, in order to avoid new tariffs, on cars this time (see EUROPE 12119).
In the last six months, in addition to the increase in imports of soy beans and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, both sides have sought, in the framework of the Joint Executive Working Group, to identify other areas where a trade agreement would be 'within reach' (see EUROPE 12071).
These meetings "were complemented by technical level exchanges on issues like regulatory cooperation, conformity assessment and trade facilitation in a mutually beneficial way", a Commission spokeswoman told EUROPE.
Earlier this week, the Commissioner announced the preparation of two negotiating directives with the United States to reduce customs duties on industrial goods, and on the procedures of conformity assessment, in an attempt to strengthen regulatory cooperation (see EUROPE 12168).
Other topics will "take longer time", Malmström added, without providing more details.
According to his services, this work "will continue over the coming days and weeks, both at political and technical level".
Asked also about the investigation into US imports of foreign cars, Malmström again rejected the option of voluntarily restricting European exports. (Original version in French by Hermine Donceel)