The 14th round Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) started in Brussels on Monday and is scheduled to continue until Friday. While both sides are anxious to give a positive perspective to the negotiations, it is clear there are many obstacles in the way of concluding a deal.
The 14th round Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) started in Brussels on Monday and is scheduled to continue until Friday.
While both sides are anxious to give a positive perspective to the negotiations, it is clear there are many obstacles in the way of concluding a deal.
It gets more difficult as the US moves into election mode, not helped by the fact that both candidates for the presidency are talking about protecting American industry rather than trade deals.
There were already difficulties in Brussels with getting equivalence sorted between the US and EU including a rebuke to EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan.
This week, while the latest round of discussions was ongoing, Bernd Lange, chairman of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, said on Tuesday it is “unrealistic” that the US and EU will be able to close a deal in 2016.
The principal reason for this, he said, was the US refusal to move on key EU priorities such as market access on procurement and services.
Complication
A further complication now on the table is the Brexit negotiation which will focus EU minds and negotiation resources in the short to medium term. With so many obstacles in place, it is difficult to see how a TTIP deal with the US can be concluded quickly.
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