The objectives, required by Congress under the "fast-track" trade negotiating authority law, seek to reduce or eliminate EU tariffs on US farm products and break down non-tariff barriers, including on products developed through biotechnology, the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office said. Agricultural issues were among the major sticking points in past negotiations for a major US-EU trade deal, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), before talks were shelved after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016. EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström told US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington on January 9 that the 28-country bloc could not negotiate on agriculture in a new, more limited set of negotiations expected to start this year. "We have made very clear agriculture will not be included," Malmström told reporters after meeting Lighthizer, adding that the two sides had not yet agreed on the scope of the talks. Trump and EU president … [Read more...] about US to seek comprehensive agriculture access in EU trade talks
Eu trade deals
Vietnam to push on EU trade deal
Vietnam has become the EU’s second-biggest trading partner in ASEAN, after Singapore, Photo: Le Toan For one week from October 14, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will visit Austria before flying to Brussels to attend the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM) and visit Belgium and the EU. His final stop will be a trip to Denmark where he will attend the P4G Copenhagen Summit 2018, aimed at discussing sustainable development goals through innovative partnerships. One of the main targets of these visits, in addition to cementing further economic, trade and investment ties, is Vietnam working with leaders of these nations - with Austria currently holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union - on the possibility of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) being signed later this year. It is hoped it could be ratified in the first quarter of 2019, before the next elections to the European Parliament scheduled to be held next May. PM Phuc will also meet with the … [Read more...] about Vietnam to push on EU trade deal
Government estimates new TPP and EU trade deals will boost Japan’s GDP by US$114 billion
Japan’s GDP is estimated to increase by US$114 billion - Photo: EPA The estimated combined effects of the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership and the trade agreement with the European Union, both expected to be implemented as early as 2019, would be equivalent to 2.5 percent of real GDP in fiscal 2016. While the two deals are forecast to create 752,000 new jobs by boosting exports and investment, they will also reduce annual production of agriculture, forestry and fishery products by up to ¥260 billion due to tougher competition from lower-cost imports. The government aims to introduce steps to strengthen the heavily protected agricultural sector. The trade pacts will play a large part in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic growth strategy, intended to help compensate for Japan’s shrinking domestic market as the population undergoes demographic changes. The latest estimates put the two pacts on a par with the ¥13.6 trillion boost that the government … [Read more...] about Government estimates new TPP and EU trade deals will boost Japan’s GDP by US$114 billion
Macron ‘not in favour’ of vast new US EU trade deal
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday (Jul 26) he viewed talks between US President Donald Trump and EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker as "useful", but he was "not in favour" of a "vast new trade deal" between the European Union and the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron said a good trade discussion "can only be done on a balanced, reciprocal basis". (AFP/JAVIER SORIANO) "European and France never wanted a trade war and the talks yesterday were therefore useful in as far as they helped scale back any unnecessary tension, and working to bring about an appeasement is useful," the French leader said after a meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Madrid. "But a good trade discussion ... can only be done on a balanced, reciprocal basis, and in no case under any sort of threat," Macron said. "In this regard, we have a number of questions and concerns that we will clarify". Macron said he was "not in favour of us launching a vast trade … [Read more...] about Macron ‘not in favour’ of vast new US EU trade deal
New Zealand PM pushes for EU trade deal
PARIS, France — New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday pushed for a "progressive" free-trade agreement with the European Union in the coming months, while saying British ideas about turning the Commonwealth into a trading platform were a "longer run aspiration". "I believe an EU-New Zealand FTA presents an opportunity to conclude an agreement that is a model for progressive and inclusive trade," Ardern said after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. New Zealand mainly exports agricultural products to the bloc, which could agree as early as May to open negotiations having decided to fast-track the process last year. Both Ardern and Macron said the talks would take into account environmental and social concerns while being "mutually beneficial". "Some of the concerns being raised domestically in New Zealand will be similar to the ones raised in France," Ardern said in reference to potential resistance from French and European farmers. "Our … [Read more...] about New Zealand PM pushes for EU trade deal