EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom reacts during the signing of the
Belgian agreement on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a
planned EU-Canada free trade agreement, at the Lambermont Residence in
Brussels, Belgium, October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Eric Vidal
A much-debated trade deal between the European Union and the United
States is not dead and negotiations will continue with the new U.S.
administration after November's
elections, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom
said on Saturday.
A similar agreement between the EU and Canada can finally be signed on
Sunday after resistance from Belgian local governments led to a last-minute
blockade of the agreement which was seven years in the making.
Paul Magnette, the premier of Belgium's region of Wallonia who led
opposition to the Canadian trade deal, told his parliament on Friday that with
the concessions he managed to agree, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) was "dead and buried".
Malmstrom said she disagreed with that assessment and work would continue
with the new U.S. administration.
"TTIP is not dead, but TTIP is not yet an agreement," she told
reporters after a ceremony in Brussels, in which Belgium signed its addendum to
the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.
"The U.S. election will naturally bring the negotiations to a pause
and we will resume after with the new administration," she added.
Both TTIP and CETA have sparked demonstrations by unions and protest groups
who say the agreements will lead to a 'race to the bottom' in labor,
environmental and public health standards and allow big business to challenge
democratically elected governments across Europe.
Washington and Brussels were committed to sealing TTIP before President
Barack Obama leaves office in January, but both sides now recognize that this
will not happen.
Some European politicians have called for TTIP talks to be halted and
relaunched after the U.S. presidential elections with greater transparency,
clearer goals and a different name.
A much-debated trade deal between the European Union and the United
States is not dead and negotiations will continue with the new U.S.
administration after November's elections, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom
said on Saturday.
A similar agreement between the EU and Canada can finally be signed on
Sunday after resistance from Belgian local governments led to a last-minute
blockade of the agreement which was seven years in the making.
Paul Magnette, the premier of Belgium's region of Wallonia who led
opposition to the Canadian trade deal, told his parliament on Friday that with
the concessions he managed to agree, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) was "dead and buried".
Malmstrom said she disagreed with that assessment and work would continue
with the new U.S. administration.
"TTIP is not dead, but TTIP is not yet an agreement," she told
reporters after a ceremony in Brussels, in which Belgium signed its addendum to
the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.
"The U.S. election will naturally bring the negotiations to a pause
and we will resume after with the new administration," she added.
Both TTIP and CETA have sparked demonstrations by unions and protest
groups who say the agreements will lead to a 'race to the bottom' in labor,
environmental and public health standards and allow big business to challenge
democratically elected governments across Europe.
Washington and Brussels were committed to sealing TTIP before President
Barack Obama leaves office in January, but both sides now recognize that this
will not happen.
Some European politicians have called for TTIP talks to be halted and
relaunched after the U.S. presidential elections with greater transparency,
clearer goals and a different name.
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