EU And The US To Resume TTIP Talks

Online, November 12, 2013 (Newswire.com) - The European Union and the United States have started their 2nd round of talks with regards to creating the world's biggest free-trade deal - the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

On the part of Washington, the deal is originally aimed at removing barriers in trade and investment between the two regions. It was opened despite tensions on spying and protected industries. It was stated to have come at a time of a growing conflict over spying by the US National Security Agency on their allies.

However, some prominent officials expressed concerns over the negotiations. When the two sides officially agreed to open talks at the Group of Eight conference, head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, said, "These negotiations will not always be easy but I am sure they will be worth it."

It was observed that direct tariff on products and services between the two regions are relatively low. Apart from this, there are other barriers, such as preferences for domestic business, inspection procedures, and regulatory and safety standards. Removing these factors is speculated to significantly reduce costs for companies doing transatlantic business.

For instance, EU negotiators will be putting pressure on cities, federal departments and states in the US to drop preferences for American contractors. In turn, Washington negotiators will be looking for the European Union to welcome to its market American biotechnology firms that wanted to sell products, such as genetically-modified (GM) food - something which has remained controversial in Europe.

The negotiations were initially set for October, but they were postponed due to the government shut-down in the US, and relations between the two regions have become strained after the so-called "snooping" by the US on mobile calls made by German leader, Angela Merkel. In the midst of the growing friction, John Kerry, US Secretary of State, urged European leaders not to allow the row to disrupt the negotiations.

Together EU and the US account for about £18.7 trillion worth of annual output. This is almost half of the world's total. The former states that the TTIP could bring yearly benefits of £99 billion to all its member states. It is hoped that an agreement could be reached by the end of 2014.

Berenberg Bank chief economist, Holger Schmieding, stated during BBC Radio 4's programme "Today" that the deal would be very good for economic development in the future. He stressed on a positive trend involving the automotive industry, where agreed standards for cars could help bring down costs. However, he also cited potential hindrances, including the areas of GM food and personal data protection.

Others also speculate that the TTIP could soften the strong consumer laws existing on both sides of the Atlantic.

The 2nd round of talks will particularly cover investment, energy, services and raw materials. US negotiator, Dan Mullaney, and EU counterpart, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, will give an update on the talks later on.

In 2012, trade between the European Union and the US was worth some 500 billion euros, with another 280 billion euros in services and trillions in investment flows.

A 3rd round of negotiations is already scheduled on December 16-20 in Washington

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