Negotiators must ‘step up a gear’ to conclude EU-US trade deal

Negotiators seeking to conclude a trade agreement between the US and Europe must "step up a gear," the EU's trade commissioner Karel de Gucht said after two days of official meetings in Washington DC.

Speaking after engagements with his American counterpart US trade ambassador Mike Froman, Mr de Gucht said that after three rounds of talks, both sides were set to "get into the heart of the negotiations" that might lead to an accord between the world's two largest economic blocs.

Mr de Gucht signalled tougher negotiations with the US over the months ahead, saying that resolving regulatory differences between the two sides would be “the toughest nut to break”.

Standards
He stressed that there would no lowering of safety, consumer or data protection standards in Europe to conclude a deal, saying that he would ensure an accord would "not become a dumping agreement."

Financial services were, from Europe’s perspective, “on the plate,” he said but hinted that the US were not in agreement on this, saying that both sides were continuing to have discussions on the issue.

The commissioner categorically ruled out any hormone-fed US beef or genetically modified foods being imported into Europe under the agreement. US farmers need to install hormone-free production lines into their operations if they wish to include meat products in the agreement, he said.