Trade leaders want momentum toward US-EU pact

Trade leaders in Congress on Monday urged the Obama administration to position a sweeping agreement with the European Union for completion next year.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) want to see a definitive push toward conclusion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) but say they are worried the EU won’t budge on key items that remain a high priority for lawmakers.

{mosads}“We understand that the successful conclusion of TTIP will require political leadership on both sides of the Atlantic,” Brady and Hatch wrote in the letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman.

With the 15th round of TTIP talks this week in New York, the lawmakers want to see more progress in several critical areas and they urged U.S. trade officials to emphasize to the EU that any pact must earn the support of Congress.

“We support your efforts to continue to pressure the EU on these key issues of high priority for Congress and the American people,” the chairmen wrote.

The lawmakers ticked off a long list of provisions that must be included in a final TTIP deal, including the elimination of all tariffs, especially on agricultural products, strong rules on intellectual property rights and enforceable commitments on digital trade, particularly on data server localization requirements.

Lawmakers also are worried about a lack sufficient progress on sanitary and phytosanitary issues and the EU’s attempts to include geographical indicators in the agreement.

“The EU’s pattern of ‘hostage taking’ and other stall tactics has led us to where we are today — to a point where European leaders are expressing an inability and an unwillingness to complete a comprehensive agreement by the end of this year,” the lawmakers wrote.

“However, we remain committed to continuing and elevating these negotiations,” they said.

Talks between the United States and the EU were thrown off track after the United Kingdom voted in June to leave the 28-nation bloc, essentially pushing off completion of the TTIP agreement until next year. 

But the White House and lawmakers are trying to pick up the pace and get as much accomplished on the deal before President Obama leaves office so it could be ready to go sometime next year.

“The United States has come to the table prepared to negotiate a high-standard agreement, and we have the political will to do so,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Congress will not accept an abbreviated or low-standard agreement simply because the Europeans have run out the clock. TTIP must be a single undertaking.”