EU-US trade talks - third round to start in Washington D.C. on Monday 16 December
United States Brussels, 13 December 2013
A third round of EU-US trade talks will kick off in Washington D.C. this coming Monday, 16 December 2013. The talks will help pave the way for a future Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. An EU-commissioned study by independent think tank CEPR suggests the deal could boost the EU economy by up to €120bn a year.
Negotiators will again focus on a broad range of issues, including:
- liberalisation of goods’ trade
- making it easier to invest in each other's economies
- opening up trade in services, and in energy and raw materials
- making it easier to sell in each other's markets by:
- making our respective regulations more compatible, and
- enabling EU and US regulators to work more closely together in future.
The talks should allow European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and US Ambassador Michael Froman to take stock of progress when they next meet. This is currently set for February 2014.
Both sides will also start to prepare their respective offers on goods, services and procurement. These set out in detail what each will do to:
- cut its customs tariffs on goods imported from the other side;
- open up its market in services to the other side's companies;
- enable the other side's companies to bid for potentially lucrative government contracts in the same way as it does to domestic firms.
Stakeholder outreach – Wednesday 18 December
In tandem with next week's talks, the US Trade Representative will host a meeting of labour, environmental and consumer action groups in Washington DC on Wednesday 18 December 2013. Registration for the event is now closed.
Footage from the discussions will be available soon afterwards on the Commission's dedicated TTIP webpage.
Press and media briefing – Friday 20 December
There will be a full press briefing at the end of the talks on Friday 20 December 2013. Check the USTR website for details nearer the time.
Europe-based correspondents can contact Helene Banner from the Commission's press team in Brussels.
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