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A second round of negotiations aimed at removing trade barriers between the European Union and the United States in a wide range of areas was launched Monday.
Dominated by data protection
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks come at a time when the United States is under fire over revelations the National Security Agency and other U.S. intelligence agencies monitored European leaders' emails and phone calls. Data protection is expected to be discussed during the talks.
Regarding the outlook for the talks, Marietje Schaake, a Member of the European Parliament, said in a report the ongoing revelations about the NSA and PRISM programs, the spying on European government leaders, and the interception of data from U.S. data companies were dominating the TTIP debate.
Viviane Reding, vice-president of the European Commission and EU justice commissioner, said last week, "Recent developments concerning intelligence issues ... have unfortunately shaken and damaged our relationship."
"Restoring such trust will be very much needed if we want to successfully conclude the TTIP negotiations in the foreseeable future. Otherwise, the European Parliament may decide to reject the TTIP," she warned.
Back to negotiation table after U.S. gov't shutdown
According to the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the two sides will meet in Brussels to discuss services, investment, energy and raw materials as well as regulatory issues. The talks scheduled for Oct. 7-11 were postponed due to the U.S. government's partial shutdown that month.
The EU wants to set up a transatlantic single market while reducing regulatory barriers. "Commissioner (for Trade Karel) De Gucht's proposal for the establishment of a new Regulatory Cooperation Council will probably be discussed," Schaake said.
The negotiators are expected to focus on reaching an agreement on regulatory cooperation and coherence. "These are likely to include automotive, chemicals, pharmaceutics, medical equipment and machinery," she said.
Opening both markets for services, investment, and public procurement will also be on the agenda of the five-day talks.
Being each other's largest economic partners, a successful TTIP will strengthen their transatlantic relationship.
According to a European Commission study, the deal could add about 119 billion euros (155 billion U.S. dollars) annually to the EU economy and 95 billion euros (124 billion dollars) to the U.S. economy.
Through the TTIP, the United States and the EU could take the lead in formulating future global trade rules, against the backdrop of the rise of emerging economies.
