post Wednesday July 31, 2013
Recently the United States and the European Union (EU) wrapped up initial meetings and discussions on international trade talks. The meetings, held in Washington D.C., involved a wide range of stakeholders from a wide swath of industries, countries and agencies. Participants represented everything from non-governmental agencies to industry specialists.
The negotiations were focusing on Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The EU and the United States managed to hold negotiations with roughly 350 stakeholders, participate in briefings with another 250 plus participants as well as releasing information to the public domain and hosting an informative press conference that provided a certain level of insight into the proceedings of the negotiations, discussions and briefings that had taken place.
All sides that participated in the first round talks for TTIP seemed to find positives in the discussions and have hope for considerable progress to be made in the near future and in long-term outlook for the TTIP. According to members of the Lithuanian delegation representing the EU, there are approximately 24 working groups in place already that will continue the positive momentum that was gained at the discussions in Washington D.C.
Another message that can be gleaned from the negotiations was an early sense of optimism from participants that there is a great deal of common ground and unity in the commitment to accomplish positive goals for everyone involved. Even potentially divisive issues such as cross-border services and rules of origin did not generate the levels of conflict, disagreement or friction that had been present in similar negotiations in the past. The aggressive timeline that is currently in place should also serve as a tool to assist representatives in their quest to create meaningful change in international trade agreements, specifically for TTIP. The US Congress International Trade Committee (US ITC) is widely anticipated to release preliminary findings soon.
There appears to be a widespread common commitment to success and accomplishing goals that are mutually beneficial. Because of this there is a continued hope for TTIP to provide a meaningful impact on global investment.
Source: IP-Watch
Image source: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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