US, EU Trade Deal Negotiators On The Same Page

After the recent seventh round of negotiations on the United States-European Union (EU) Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), it was confirmed that talks have progressed beyond its conceptual framework and are now concentrated on the concrete proposals made by each side on the trade agreement's various chapters.

Following week-long meetings in Washington, D.C., which finished on October 3, Dan Mullaney and Ignacio Garcia-Bercero, the US and EU TTIP Chief Negotiators, respectively, concluded that "very productive discussions" had been held, and that the two parties have "moved towards the textual phase of the negotiations in which, in most areas, there are already texts on the table."

It was disclosed that, in a number of areas, there are already consolidated texts that bring together the proposals of the US and of the EU. However, it was also stressed that "these proposals are in many cases long and complex and require many hours of detailed and difficult discussion and analysis" before they can be solidified.

On his part, Mullaney emphasized that the "end goal is to unlock opportunities for jobs, supporting trade and investment by eliminating tariffs between us, and [remove] non-tariff obstacles to trade and investment, while maintaining our shared values and our high standards."

He also pointed out that, in the services sector, they are working towards "a trade agreement that creates more opportunities for US and EU companies to provide and expand services. … And to do that, our negotiators have first to examine, discuss, and understand in detail the literally hundreds of pages of proposed commitments in the services area that each side has proposed."

In addition, both emphasized how the two sides have looked at ways to facilitate the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to export and invest abroad. According to Mullaney, they are "identifying the specific and practical tools that will help them take advantage of the market access opportunities under TTIP, whether by reducing red tape and delays at the border or addressing charges and taxes that can burden exporting."

He was also able to reply to concerns expressed by the EU, stating that the US does not intend to propose that the agreement's terms should "require the privatization of public services such as water utilities, education, or national healthcare," nor that they should "limit the ability of Governments to regulate those services as they see fit – for example, to protect consumers, the environment, and health and safety."

That point was also picked up by Garcia-Bercero, who highlighted that the "approach to services negotiations excludes any commitment on public services, and the Governments remain at any time free to decide that certain services should be provided by the public sector."

He concluded by highlighting the TTIP commitment of the new leaders of the European Commission, which will be led by President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker. Juncker has already highlighted the treaty with the US as one of the ten priorities for the next Commission.

Source: Tax News