Ttip: EU, US trade deal to be sealed in Sept

BRUSSELS:  

The EU and US negotiators said they still needed to overcome large differences for a transatlantic free trade deal to be sealed this year, and factor in the impending exit from the EU of Britain. The two sides are trying to agree on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which supporters say could boost each economy by some $100 billion. EU chief negotiator Ignacio Garcia Bercero and US counterpart Dan Mullaney said both sides were committed to sealing a deal before US President Barack Obama leaves office at the turn of the year. The partners have made progress on tariff elimination and on regulatory cooperation, however, they are stuck over EU demands including greater access to public sector tenders. The two sides had previously planned to produce a single consolidated TTIP text by the end of July. Garcia Bercero said that was now more likely to come by the end of September.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2016.

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