EU-US Trade: Negotiations on elimination of tariffs for industrial goods

Council of the European Union approved, on 15 April, mandates for the European Commission to open negotiations with the United States on two agreements:

- a trade agreement limited to the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods only, excluding agricultural products;

- an agreement on conformity assessment that would have as its objective the removal of non-tariff barriers, by making it easier for companies to prove their products meet technical requirements both in the EU and the US while maintaining a high level of protection in the EU.

EU Council also decided to make both decisions authorising opening of negotiations with the US and accompanying negotiating directives public.

Romanian Minister for Business Environment, Trade and Entrepreneurship, Chiar of Council, Ștefan-Radu Oprea: Today's adoption of the EU negotiating directives gives a clear signal of the EU's commitment to a positive trade agenda with the US and the implementation of the strictly defined work programme agreed by Presidents Trump and Juncker on 25 July 2018. But let me be clear: we will not speak about agriculture or public procurement. Another important element is that the environmental and social impact of the agreement will be fully taken into account during the negotiations.

EU is now ready to launch negotiations with the US. They will cover a strictly limited set of issues stemming from July Joint Statement of Presidents Juncker and Trump. Mandates also clarify that negotiating directives for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreed in June 2013 must be considered obsolete and no longer relevant.

European Commission will negotiate on behalf of the EU, ensuring appropriate communication with all relevant EU stakeholders, including civil society and economic operators. Final agreement will need be concluded by the Council after obtaining consent of the European Parliament.

As far as the agreement on the elimination of industrial tariffs is concerned, objective is to increase EU-US trade, to improve market access and to generate new opportunities for jobs and growth. Mandate given by EU Council ensures that negotiations will take full account of particular sensitivities for certain goods, such as energy-intensive products and fisheries products, as well as environmental impact arising from differences in the EU and US regulatory frameworks.

European Commission should produce a sustainability impact assessment as soon as possible which would examine the potential economic, environmental and social impacts of this agreement, also in light of the commitments of the EU in international agreements such as the Paris agreement on climate change. Findings of this impact assessment should be taken into account in the negotiating process.

Mandate also ensures that the EU will not conclude negotiations with the US as long as the current tariffs on EU exports of steel and aluminium remain in place, and that it would be able to suspend negotiations unilaterally if the US were to impose further trade restrictions against European products.

EU and US have the largest and deepest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world and have highly integrated economies. Both economies account together for about half the entire world GDP and for nearly one third of total world trade.

Source:Romania2019.eu, EU Council Press Service