Speeches & Announcements 

Malmström Discusses TTIP and Developing Countries 

“Some believe that the European Union’s trade policy should solely focus on gaining economic advantages for the European Union. I do not agree with that view…Our job here in Brussels is to project and defend our interests. If we don’t, no-one else will. But our job is about more than that. Because we are a union of values as well as a union of interests.”

Earlier this week, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström spoke to Members of the European Parliament’s committees on development and international trade about the relationship between TTIP and developing countries. She underlined the centrality of development as an objective of EU trade policy and explained clearly why the impact of TTIP on developing countries was likely to be positive – most importantly as it would drive global demand. (European Commission) 

 

“You don’t really get to vote on automation. You don’t really get to vote on globalization. Trade agreements is what you get to vote on. So it becomes the vessel into which people pour a lot of their quite legitimate concerns about the economy.” 

In an interview with Bloomberg, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman stated that while Brexit would complicate TTIP negotiations, it was also “up to the British people” to decide whether their country, which is very open to free trade, would remain in the European Union. He also stated that trade agreements are the best way for the United States to shape its values to make globalization work for American workers. (Bloomberg) 

 

After a congressional hearing on digital trade and counterfeiting, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch stated, “If we get TPP done, TTIP should come along.The TTIP people are learning a lot from what’s happening on TPP.” He described TTIP as very important to setting international trade standards for the future. (POLITICO)

 

 

The Cologne Institute for Economic Research conducted a survey of TTIP skeptics in Germany. Two out of every three TTIP skeptics have a positive opinion of free trade, and almost just as many hold the view that globalization can benefit economic growth. However, it seems that these naysayers are conflating high negative sentiment towards the European Union’s democracy and trustworthiness with dissatisfaction towards TTIP. Supporters in other European countries view the trade agreement as a chance to improve the economic conditions in their own country, while this is not a priority for powerhouse economy Germany. (Cologne Institute for Economic Research)

 

New research from the International Monetary Fund shows that easing barriers to international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) could boost productivity and output. Also, trade liberalization in upstream industries that use intermediate inputs matters more for sector-level productivity than liberalization in the sector itself. This is especially true for countries that are more open to FDI. (Seeking Alpha)

 

Chairman of the German American Chambers of Commerce of the United States and President of American farm equipment manufacturer AGCO Martin Richenhagen described how the agricultural business and machinery sectors need to be more vocal in supporting TTIP, because it will serve their interest and that of American and European customers. In the next five years, TTIP would increase transatlantic exports by more than $150 billion and GDP by about $250 billion, in addition to creating half a million high-paying jobs. It will also give German consumers greater purchasing power and uphold the European Union’s high labor standards. (Handelsblatt)

 

 

Executive Director of the Singapore- based Asian Trade Center Deborah Elms is optimistic that during President Obama’s “lame duck” session from November to January, “TPP is the first thing on the agenda of unpopular things that will get done.” Meanwhile, others believe that Republicans who have lost their congressional elections will use the lame duck period as an opportunity to snuff out the accomplishments of this Democratic administration, including TPP. (Radio New Zealand) 

 

Following the Treasury Department’s release last month of inclusive language for financial services providers who were inconvenienced by a TPP rule that prohibits forced local data storage, the legal text is now being approved by other departments and for viewing by trade advisers from certain firms. This language would apply to a separate services trade deal that includes seven TPP countries: Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Peru. As for the other members, the White House will address their concerns on a bilateral basis. (POLITICO)

 

United States Trade Representative Michael Froman discussed the importance of using the TPP to “embed” both economically and strategically with the Pacific Rim region. The TPP is a key way to enforce a rules-based system, and Froman warned that the embrace of more “static, mercantilist” systems will open the door for China to implement a trade agreement with lower standards. He also mentioned that every industry was included in, and mostly embraced, the TPP. (Council on Foreign Relations) 

 

United States Trade Representative Michael Froman, and Canada’s Minister of International Trade Chrystia Freeland issued a statement in which they reaffirmed the importance of overcoming differences in the North American softwood lumber trade. They have been “meeting intensively” for the past 100 days in government-to-government sessions, and meetings with stakeholders, state and provincial government officials and legislators, and producers. The two stated that Canada and the United States have made “significant advances” in the agreement. (Office of the United States Trade Representative) 

 

As the latest round of negotiations for the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) begins in Geneva, there are two camps on tariff reductions. Most of the seventeen WTO nations in the EGA want to completely remove tariffs on a specific list of goods, whereas China wants to maintain a five percent tariff on some of the goods. From now until Friday, these two sides will be trying to meet in the middle on which products to include and which tariffs to either eliminate entirely or keep. (POLITICO)

 

The latest WTO report on trade restrictiveness finds that G20 economies applied 145 new trade-restrictive measures in the period between mid-October 2015 and mid-May 2016, a ten percent increase since 2009. Less than a quarter of new trade restrictions are rolled back. The WTO stated that “in the midst of this uncertainty, G20 economies must lead by example in the fight against protectionism by rejecting new trade-restrictive measures and rolling back existing ones.” (World Trade Organization)

 

National Economists Club and Stuart Mackintosh, Group Of Thirty: ‘The Brexit Referendum’ – June 22, in Washington – More Information

 

 

International Trade (INTA) Committee Meeting – June 30, in Brussels – More Information

 

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