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Leaders Stress U.S.-European Union Trade Agreement as a Trade Priority

May 5, 2014

When President Obama and German Chancellor Merkel spoke with reporters at the White House Friday, the Ukrainian crisis naturally dominated the news. Still, the two leaders did make time to talk about the U.S.-EU negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, forcefully expressing their support for completing the agreement.

The attention to what's often referred to as TTIP is certainly timely: May 1 marked the start of World Trade Month.  There's plenty to talk about throughout the month: The Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, the Trade in Services Agreement, and prominently, the need for Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority legislation to accomplish these goals. (U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman provided a good summary of top issues in his testimony last week before a Senate Finance Committee hearing.)

Business Roundtable is also marking World Trade Month with a far-reaching campaign on Trade Promotion Authority, the trade agreements and the importance of reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.

As for TTIP, on Friday the BRT and the European Round Table of Industrialists issued a joint statement urging Obama and Merkel to "reassert the strong political leadership" needed to make progress on the negotiations. President Obama at the White House:

This morning, our work touched on the range of issues where the United States and Germany are vital partners.  We agreed to continue the close security cooperation -- including law enforcement, cyber, and intelligence -- that keeps our citizens safe.  We reaffirmed our strong commitment to completing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership -- T-TIP -- which is critical to supporting jobs and boosting exports in both the United States and in Europe.

We discussed energy security, including the importance of Europe diversifying its energy sources.  The United States has already approved licenses for natural gas exports, which will increase global supply and benefit partners like Europe.  And T-TIP would make it even easier to get licenses to export gas to Europe.

Chancellor Merkel: 

[T-TIP,] I think particularly in the overall context of further intensifying our trade relations, of global growth, but also in the context of diversification of our energy supply -- this is a very important issue.  It will be very important for us to bring the negotiations very quickly to a close on T-TIP.  We are firmly convinced that for the European Union, for Germany and for the United States, this offers a lot of opportunities for the future.  And it’s so important for us to bring this agreement to a successful conclusion.  There are a number of discussions, I know; a number of skeptical remarks.  People have doubts.  But these doubts, this skepticism can be overcome and it needs to be overcome.  Just look at the many partners all over the world that have bilateral trade agreements.  I mean, it’s simply necessary. 

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman provided a more thorough discussion of an ambitious, high-standards TTIP in remarks today at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Notably, he spoke at some length about the negotiations' goal of improved regulatory cooperation:

The United States and the EU have the strongest regulatory protections in the world, and nothing we do through T-TIP will change that.  But even though we achieve similar levels of protection in many, if not most areas, we often achieve those levels of protection through different routes, with different measures, and in a way in which those differences create obstacles to trade.

A product built to high standards in the U.S. cannot be sold in the EU – and vice versa -- due to often minor differences in regulations.  Then the product must undergo entirely separate testing, because we don’t recognize each other’s testing methods.  Large firms have the resources to maintain multiple production lines – allowing them to serve markets with different requirements – but small firms often cannot.  This results in massive costs to the economy, when the actual level of health or safety might actually be the same.  This is what we are seeking to address in T-TIP.

Karel De Gucht,  European Commissioner for Trade, also spoke at the German ministry, which was hosting a conference on TTIP. Like Froman, De Gucht delved deep into the most prominent issues in the negotiations, while stressing three ways to accomplish a good agreement:

First, aim high. People in Germany, the rest of Europe and the United States will only  benefit if the eventual deal actually creates many new opportunities for companies to  trade. 

Second, remember our values. The reason we can aim high is because we have many  values in common. But we also know we have different societal choices on important  issues. So the deal – and the negotiation - needs to respect both the values we share and our right to disagree.

Third, work together. If we want this to work we need a deal that works for people on  both sides of the Atlantic.

Froman, De Gucht and Germany Economic Minister Sigmar Gabriel held a media availability following the speeches. Ambassador Froman starts his remarks at the 7:30 mark, and De Gucht follows. Gabriel spoke in German, the other two in English.

 

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