16th May 2014

Competitiveness: TTIP to be concluded by the end of 2015

On 15 May at the European Business Summit in Brussels, the US ambassador to the EU Anthony Gardner and the Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht made both comments in the sense, that the currently negotiated Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership treaty is to be concluded by the end of 2015. Both also commented on the anti-TTIP movement in Europe. According to Mr. Gardner, the opponents´ myths must be fought and destroyed. Mr. De Gucht said that, unfortunately, the treaty which could bring at least €100 billion for the EU has become part of the EP electoral campaign and expressed his surprise about the socialist candidate for the EC presidency Martin Schulz´s comment that the deal should be postponed. Commissioner De Gucht also stated, that he would like to see financial services to be part of the final deal. This motion was, however, quickly rejected by the US ambassador. According to Ambassador Gardner, the US Treasury has been very clear on that subject and there is no need for financial services to be in the TTIP. The official reason for such stance is that EU financial regulation is less strict than the American one after the adoption of the Dodd-Frank bill in 2010 following the financial crisis. Financial services are thus the first area excluded from the Partnership by the Americans. Formerly, France made it clear, that it does not want to include culture and audiovisual sectors.

Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic