30 September 2013

Regulatory issues top the agenda of second round of EU-US trade deal negotiations

After his meeting with US Trade Representative Michael Froman, Commissioner De Gucht emphasised that this is what will make TTIP different from traditional trade agreements: “Our main ambition - beyond simply reducing tariffs across the board - is to make the EU and the US regulatory systems more compatible and to help shape global rules in trade”. But be it on food safety, financial services such as the regulation of derivatives or standards for electric cars, the aim is to strive for a mutual recognition on the basis of the current standards, not to water down any regulation. “The reality is that over the last decades, Europe has seen its standards rise to a level of global excellence and leadership. And it's on this basis that both sides agree to use such a transformative process to raise their game.”

He also added that “in many ways, Europe has 'been there, seen that and done that' in its early preparations during the 1980s for a Single Market". Even if neither side had the ambition to go that far in TTIP, “our aim should still be to progressively build a more integrated transatlantic marketplace”.

Commissioner De Gucht expects the negotiators to provide an outline of the regulatory and rules component of TTIP for political review in January 2014. “On that basis, the political guidance can be given to try to make a maximum of progress throughout next year." After the second round of talks on 7-11 October in Brussels, another round of negotiations is planned for December 2013 in Washington DC.

The 'Regulatory Part' of TTIP

The Commission's study includes a breakdown of the potential economic impacts of an EU-US Free Trade Agreement. The Commission’s assessment of the likely benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is based on analysis carried out by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, a leading independent pan-European economic research organisation. Given the significance of TTIP, this analysis has been widely discussed in policy debates, in the press and on social media.

To help answer some of the questions that have been raised in those debates the Commission has prepared an explanatory guide to the study: its main findings, the methods used and its relationship to other studies. It looks at the projected overall impact of an agreement as well as more specific impacts on industry and agriculture; the likely effects of an EU-US agreement on the rest of the world; and what the study says about jobs. It also provides detailed information on the economic techniques used in the study, including the assumptions made, the type of model used and the conservative approach that the study takes to estimate impacts.

Press release

Full study

Explanatory guide

Statement by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht

US Ambassador Froman's remarks

© European Commission