US., EU Officials Meet in New York for TTIP Negotiation Round
U.S. and EU officials are meeting in New York throughout this week to discuss the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said (here), as already contentious negotiations have recently slowed amid widespread citizen outcry…
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in the EU and public criticisms from top French officials (see 1608300017). EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom on Sept. 23 acknowledged that negotiations are unlikely to conclude before the end of the Obama administration, but defended the continuance of talks (see 1609260023). National Association of Manufacturers Director for International Trade Policy Ken Monahan said the organization will follow the New York round, and called on TTIP negotiators to resist any inclinations to secure a deal that doesn’t contain ambitious standards in areas including tariffs, intellectual property, investment, binding enforcement, and “regulatory, standards and non-tariff disciplines” (here). Monahan indicated concern that a recent set of EU proposals (here) on technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, regulatory cooperation, and “related chapters on specific sectors” could yield weaker provisions in those areas than the Trans-Pacific Partnership. “Given the current global environment of lower growth and increasing barriers to trade, it is now more important than ever to push for an ambitious TTIP that will meaningfully boost economic growth and opportunity,” Monahan said.