The United States (click here) has no choice but to delay negotiations over a major free trade deal with countries in the European Union because of the partial federal government shutdown, the Obama administration has said.
Michael Froman, a US trade representative working within an agency of the same name (USTR), phoned European Union Trade Commissioner Karel Del Gucht Friday to inform the Belgian politician that US officials would not be taking a scheduled trip to Brussels next week to discuss future plans.
Washington and the EU were expected to meet for the second time on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, according to Reuters. The agreement will become the world’s largest free-trade deal if it is signed when the shutdown is lifted.
Over 800,000 US government workers are temporarily out of work after negotiations over the federal budget ground to a halt in Washington earlier this week. More employees are likely to be placed on unpaid leave as the conflict drags on. Major government contractors, including Lockheed Martin, have begun announcing their own furloughs as the impact reverberates....
Transatlantic Trading Power (click here)February 21, 2013
...The pact aims to not only to eliminate import duties and tariffs that currently exist between the U.S. and EU, but also to reshape global regulations governing products like cars, pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The goal is to set the global standard for product safety and protection of intellectual property. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that eliminating trans-Atlantic tariffs would boost trade between the U.S. and E.U. (now worth about $1 trillion) by more than $120 billion within five years....
