EU and US mega deal sparks inflated emotions
The EU and the US are negotiating a free trade and investment
agreement. Negotiations are also about import tariffs but mainly about
sanitary and phytosanitary standards. In this two part series, World
Poultry examines this deal which can have far-reaching consequences for
agriculture.
US President Barack Obama and the President of the European
Commission, José Manuel Barroso, announced a Transatlantic Trade &
Investment Partnership (TTIP) in June 2013. An agreement that has to
simplify trade and investment by US companies in the EU and vice versa.
TTIP is a free trade agreement but for the first time, it is one with a
strong investment component and additionally has the objective to merge
different standards, including those relating to food safety. According
to the European Commission the agreement can yield the EU economy € 120
billion per year, and another € 90 billion for the US. Those figures are
based upon countless assumptions, but as the European-American trade
amounts to one third of the world trade and considering the distinct
ambitions, the impact will in any case be enormous.
A controversial trade deal
