16 June 2014

EurActiv/FT: Financial services off negotiating table for next round of TTIP

The draft  document, leaked via the European Federation of Public Services Union said regarding financial services: "The EU considers that the ambition of the EU offer is closely linked to the progress of discussions on regulatory cooperation. Therefore, commitments on financial services will be included at a later stage."

An attached note to member states, not for US eyes, said, "The draft TTIP offer does not contain any commitments on financial services. Given the firm US opposition to include regulatory cooperation on financial services in TTIP, it is considered appropriate not to include any commitments on financial services in the EU’s market access offer at this stage.

"The situation may change in the future if the US shows willingness to engage solidly on regulatory cooperation."  While the EU insists financial services should be included in any deal, the US Treasury has argued firmly against working with the Europeans to regulate their financial sector.

The draft initial offer was circulated to member states for their comments between the fifth and the sixth round of negotiations in mid-July. The EU said in the document it reserves the right to change its position during the negotiations with the US.

EU Trade Spokesman John Clancy said, "The EU approach on services is an ambitious one, both on market access and regulatory aspects. And we will put forward strong commitments to achieve the goal of creating meaningful new market opportunities in this negotiation. We believe that the level of ambition and real economic value of our respective offers will be comparable.

"In all agreements we do not put on the table public services such as public education, public health, water distribution", he added.

Full EurActiv article 

The FT reports US reactions

The US has defended a decision to exclude financial regulation from a vast transatlantic trade pact amid mounting pressure from the EU and the financial industry to include it, arguing that doing so would only complicate the regulatory landscape unnecessarily.

Full article

© Financial Times