Photo Credit: @jyrkikatainen
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Vice President Federica Mogherini, European Council President Donald Tusk, Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, Jyrki Katainen, and the Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, represented the European Union at the 18th bilateral Summit between the European Union and China in Beijing from July 12 to 13. More info here. 

From July 9-10, members of the G20 attended the G20 Trade Ministers meeting in Shanghai, China. 

Read the statement by USTR Michael Froman on G-20 Ministerial. 

Directly after, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström visited Beijing for the 18th EU-China Summit which focused on a bilateral investment agreement and China’s market economy status. 
Read Commissioner Malmström’s speech “EU and China – Reforming to Reach Our Goals”

While USTR Michael Froman and his EU counterpart Cecilia Malmström joined the other G20 members in Shanghai, the US and EU TTIP negotiators got ready for this week’s 14th round of TTIP negotiations in Brussels. Today, negotiators Ignacio Garcia Bercero and Dan Mullaney met with stakeholders to discuss progress made and to listen to their input on the way forward. Stay tuned about the new EU TTIP text proposals which are expected to be published soon.

Speeches & Announcements 

US Ambassador to the EU Pledges Concluding TTIP This Year

“If we are going to succeed in completing TTIP this year, we need political will on both sides to maintain our current intensified engagement and bring a pragmatic, problem-solving approach to resolving the remaining issues.”

In his remarks to Amcham Dublin, US Ambassador to the European Union Anthony L. Gardner stated that productive TTIP negotiating rounds and intersessional meetings have generated proposed text in the vast majority of the negotiating areas. He laid out the “admittedly ambitious” goal of reaching an advanced stage of text consolidation across the board in July, and resolving the most sensitive issues by the end of the year. (US Mission to the EU) 

 

“The upcoming round has the potential to be a turning point in the negotiations, against the backdrop of efforts to conclude a deal in 2016.”

The Business Alliance for TTIP, which includes major transatlantic business groups such as the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union, the Trans Atlantic Business Council, BusinessEurope, and the European Small Business Alliance, released a joint statement calling for a “constructive and creative” approach to harmonize different positions on services, public procurement, agriculture, regulatory cooperation at the horizontal and sectoral levels, and on geographical indicators.

 

The European Commission will table eight new proposals during the 14th round of TTIP, including texts for chapters on regulatory cooperation on automobiles, cosmetics, textiles, engineering, medical devices, and chemicals. It will also table proposals on technical barriers to trade and trade defense as well as information and communication technology. The European Union will also propose a framework for regulatory cooperation and rules for digital commerce. (POLITICO) 

 

More than a hundred officials are involved in the 14th round of TTIP negotiations, which will cover all aspects of the agreement. According to European sources, it’s possible a first draft of the text will emerge by the end of the summer. Publication delays since 2014 have been attributed to the rise of populism, which has turned trade highly political for the first time. (EU Observer)

The European Union will propose creating an institutional body at thhe 14th round of TTIP talks. It will oversee American and European regulatory cooperation for TTIP and for future trade negotiations. It will most likely include regular review at the ministerial level and more opportunities for public commentary and involvement. It may not establish, however, a permanent body of senior regulators from both sides that would meet twice a year. (POLITICO)

 

 

In a Vieuws video interview, Fredrik Erixon, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE), stated that the impending departure of a free trade-leaning country (the United Kingdom) will not damage the European Union’s overall view on trade. Although trade levels in the European Union will almost certainly be affected by Brexit, Erixon predicts the United Kingdom will take a more “conciliatory” stance towards negotiating free trade agreements (FTA) with the other members of the European Union. (Vieuws) 

 

Senior fellow for The German Marshall Fund Peter Chase writes that TTIP will be concluded by the end of 2016 because Commissioner Malmström and Ambassador Froman both strongly believe that it is the best trade deal the two regions are likely to ever get. Chase believes that both sides will likely maintain quotas on some agricultural products; however, the more products the European Union protects the less ground it will gain in geographical indicators. Investment rules and procedures will be more transparent and fair. (German Marshall Fund)

 

A recent study by German and Dutch researchers found that foreign investors rarely used investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases to hamper the introduction of a new law. The majority of these cases instead focused on contracts between a state and foreign investors, decision-making by local governments and state-owned companies, or the rejection or modification of licenses. It is worth noting that all ISDS claims under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) for damages caused by legislative changes failed. (Alliance for Responsible Commerce) 

 

“We’re certainly going to want to do whatever we can to deepen our relationship with the UK and as well as with the EU, and ultimately that could mean the UK joining TTIP when it’s completed. And I’ve even heard some people suggesting that they could join the TPP.” 

Ambassador Michael Froman stated that it would be difficult for the United States to consider negotiating a separate FTA with the United Kingdom until the latter’s relationship with the European Union was delineated and it became clear whether London will pursue a model based on full sovereignty over regulation and tariffs. Froman also stated that Brexit would not slow progress towards TTIP. (Reuters) 

 

Compared to previous trade agreements that the United States has signed, the TPP is expected to significantly impact areas in which the United States has a strong comparative advantage — especially digital trade, agriculture, and tradeable services — which will create high-quality, high-paying jobs. The US International Trade Commission (USITC) recently estimated that the service sector will see a $42 billion increase in sales over the next 15 years while the agricultural and food industries will gain $10 billion due to the TPP. This gain is roughly five times the estimated loss in sales of manufacturing, natural resource, and energy output. (New Zealand Herald) 

 

In a blog post, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström described how the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) will remove almost all tariffs between the European Union and Canada, saving companies hundreds of millions of euros in payments annually, especially benefiting smaller European firms. CETA will also break away from the old investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system through a more transparent and independent model that enshrines the rights of governments to regulate. European Union suppliers will also be able to bid for unprecedented access to government contracts in all levels of government. (European Commission)

 

The European Union is providing technical assistance for the next three years to implement East Asia’s first national emissions trading system, the Korean Emissions Trading System (KETS). It was established in 2015 to monitor Korea’s greenhouse gas reduction targets under the Paris climate accords. The European Union also has a new €10 million emissions trading project with China, which will be opening a nationwide carbon market in 2017. (European Commission)

 

The 18th annual EU-China summit is being held from July 12 to 13. A $2.2 billion Chinese investment in a new European Union infrastructure fund is expected to be ratified this week, which will not give China any direct influence. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also announced the creation of a bilateral working group to reduce Chinese steel overproduction and protect the European steel industry. European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström reassured China that trade will be “business as usual” following Brexit. (Fortune)

 

Release of Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for the World Trading System: July 14, in Washington – More Information (streaming event only) 

 

 

 

EU-US Relations: Regional & Global Challenges for the Next US Administration and Congress: July 21, in Cleveland – More Information

 

Europe in Times of Brexit: A Transatlantic Talk with Czech Foreign Minister Lubomír Zaorálek: July 22, in Washington – More Information

 

EU-US Relations: Regional & Global Challenges for the Next US Administration and Congress: July 27, in Philadelphia – More Information 

 

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