De Gucht: Transatlantic Trade Growth Will Not Mean Lower Standards

The European Union wants to expand its Transatlantic trade with the U.S. and is mulling the ways to do so.

 
The trading line is believed to have considerable growth potential for both economies.

The framework to work on is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or the TTIP,  as proposed by Karel De Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, during CDU Wirtschaftsrat Economic Conference 2014 held in Berlin yesterday.

“This negotiation does have real potential to strengthen our economy. The United States is already Europe’s largest trade and investment partner.

And TTIP would expand that relationship to boost growth and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic, ” he said.

With respect to branches that can contribute to export growth, De Gucht referred to  small and medium sized German companies who work in high-tech infrastructure or engineering, which if the TTIP is successful could enter and compete on the US market.

“I’m also thinking of sectors like pharmaceuticals. Those companies would have an easier time exporting to the United States if their factories didn’t need to be inspected twice – by EU and US authorities – for compliance with exactly the same rules.

And I’m thinking of traditional firms that are no less important to German and European growth. Like the small tableware producer who today faces tariffs of over 20% in the US – who contacted the European Commission in the hope that TTIP might be able to help.

These are the kinds of opportunities this negotiation has the potential to create,” he went on to say.

De Gucht stressed that TTIP does not necessarily mean lowering of standards, despite the fact that regulation and regulatory convergence form crucial part of the negotiations.

“But it is perfectly possible to find ways to make regulation more compatible without lowering standards. The case of pharmaceuticals is just one example.

But let me say again what I have said before: The EU will not be changing its laws on genetically modified food. And we will not be changing our laws on beef hormones. And we will never surrender our regulatory sovereignty.”

[mappress]
Press Release, July 4, 2014