A prominent European Union envoy called for a sweeping trade liberalization deal between the US and the EU to be finalized before the next presidential election—one that is looking likely to give rise to a President skeptical of its benefits.
European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom made the remarks about the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on Wednesday in Washington. Talks on TTIP were launched in 2013.
“We are determined to try to push this, if possible, to finalize it, being aware that there will be a new administration that will have a word on it,” Malmstrom said.
“Without entering into debate with one individual, I don’t share those arguments,” she said. “In good trade agreements, there are a lot of economic advantages.”
Republican frontrunner, billionaire heir Donald Trump, has hit out repeatedly at free trade deals signed by both Republican and Democratic administrations over the past two decades; as has Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the improbable winner of Tuesday’s primary in Michigan, a state decimated by the de-industrialization caused by global economic integration.
Even former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has gotten in on the action. A reliable supporter of free trade deals in the past, the Democratic front-runner said early in her campaign she would oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (though she repeatedly touted the agreement as President Obama’s top envoy).
Malmstrom is in Washington this week to meet her counterpart, US Trade Representative Michael Froman.
Negotiating rounds for TTIP are scheduled for April and July.
Even if TTIP is finalized this summer, it will almost certainly not be considered during the 114th Congress. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which was finalized last year, isn’t likely to be brought up for a vote by Republican leaders until after the November election. The TPP is already unpopular on Capitol Hill, and lawmakers could face a backlash from voters for backing it.
