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Roundup: EU trade commissioner expects TTIP talks finalized by end-2016

Xinhua, April 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Union and the United States aim at concluding talks on the ambitious Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement by the end of this year, Cecilia Malmstrom, European Commissioner for trade, said here on Thursday.

The Commissioner met in Vilnius with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius and Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevicius.

According to Malmstrom, TTIP negotiators aim at achieving the agreement by the end of 2016, before the end of the U.S. President's Barack Obama term. However, it is widely agreed that considerable flexibilities on both sides are needed in order to achieve this goal.

"There are no strict deadlines as the agreement will be reached when it is acceptable to both sides," said Malmstrom during a press conference with Linkevicius.

"We must be sure it is good enough for all the EU member states. If it happens, excellent, if no, we will have to continue talks with another U.S. administration," she added.

In her words, the quality of the content of agreement is more important in this case than strictly defined deadlines of when negotiations must be finalized.

Lithuania is one of the EU countries benefiting from the TTIP which is currently being negotiated with the United States, Grybauskaite said on Thursday after meeting with the commissioner.

"European Union and the United States have a historic chance to create the largest free-trade zone in the world which would serve more than 800 million people," Grybauskaite was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidency.

The agreement would open the U.S. agricultural and food market for Lithuania and ease the way for U.S. liquefied gas to Lithuania, the president noted.

Butkevicius expressed hope for concluding the talks this year. "We consider trade policy as a vital link between competitiveness, growth and creating jobs," he said.

"Extra-EU (transactions with countries outside the EU) exports have contributed to creating over 200,000 jobs in Lithuania, whereas job opportunities would increase because of active trade with the United States," he noted.

According to the data from the presidency, Lithuania's GDP would expand additional 1.6 percent due to the TTIP and export would grow by 17 percent.

Exports accounts for 80 percent of Lithuanian GDP. A total of 78 percent of Lithuanians are in favor of TTIP, the presidency said.

The EU and the United States have the most integrated economic relationship in the world. In June 2013, EU member states gave the European Commission the green light to start talks with the United States in order to achieve ambitious TTIP agreement.

Negotiators started the 13th round of talks this week in New York on the TTIP, which is expected to address various issues, including agriculture markets, government procurement practices, regulatory cooperation and energy exports. Endit