The European Commission is today publishing a record number of EU proposals from the ongoing 14th round of talks for a trade agreement with the United States, taking place in Brussels this week. As part of its drive for a more transparent trade and investment policy, the Commission is making these proposals public only days after submitting them to our negotiating partners. The nine proposals published today are intended to simplify technical regulations without lowering standards, and to set global rules...

Read more

"If we are going to succeed in completing TTIP this year, we need political will on both sides to maintain our current intensified engagement and bring a pragmatic, problem-solving approach to resolving the remaining issues."   In his remarks to Amcham Dublin, US Ambassador to the European Union Anthony L. Gardner stated that productive TTIP negotiating rounds and intersessional meetings have generated proposed text in the vast majority of the negotiating areas. He laid out the "admittedly ambitious" goal of reaching...

Read more

The International Trade Administration (ITA) released a new report today that finds 92 percent of U.S. goods exports in 2015—more than $1.3 trillion—were potentially affected by foreign technical regulations that could have a significant trade impact. "This report demonstrates the pervasiveness of technical regulations and their potential to affect U.S. exports," said Acting U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Ken Hyatt. "Regulations and testing and certification procedures that diverge from international standards—especially in ways that are unnecessarily trade-restrictive—can...

Read more

Three years after EU-U.S. negotiations were launched on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the 14th negotiating round will take place the week of July 11 in Brussels.  Clicke here for an overview of the progress to date. Compliments of the European Union Delegation to the US

Read more

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström was in Washington last week, speaking about TTIP at the Atlantic Council.   She gave the keynote address and then joined a panel with Laura Lane (President, Global Public Affairs, UPS) and Richard Trumka (President, ALF-CIO). You can watch the event here and read her speech here. Compliments of the European Union Delegation to the US  

Read more

EU Trade Commissioner Malmström Discussed TTIP in DC EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström was in Washington last week, speaking about TTIP at the Atlantic Council. She gave the keynote address and then joined a panel with Laura Lane (President, Global Public Affairs, UPS) and Richard Trumka (President, ALF-CIO). You can watch the event here Commissioner Malmström Speech: Ladies and gentlemen, I’m delighted to be here in Washington today. I am sorry that I have to head back to Brussels so soon and to miss...

Read more

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström spoke to Members of the European Parliament’s committees on development and international trade this afternoon, about the relationship between TTIP and developing countries. She underlined the centrality of development as an objective of EU trade policy and explained clearly why the impact of TTIP on developing countries was likely to be positive – most importantly as it would drive global demand. She also noted that TTIP was not happening in isolation and urged developing country partners...

Read more

What role do trade agreements play in strengthening U.S. global competitiveness? How can increasing foreign investment opportunities for U.S. companies not just bolster the American economy, but the world economic order and the liberal international order more broadly? In a recent event at Brookings, Penny Pritzker discussed these and related topics with Suzanne Nora Johnson of the Brookings Board and Senior Fellow Robert Kagan. The bottom line is that America plays an extraordinary role in the world, and the U.S. shouldn’t...

Read more

"The recent revised offers and the work done so far represent real improvement, but we certainly still need more ambition. The EU is ready to go an additional mile but everyone needs to join if we want to achieve an agreement able to shape the global economy of the 21st century." European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström chaired a meeting on the negotiations for the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) with 22 fellow ministers in Paris earlier last week. The participants discussed...

Read more