Comments on Negotiating Objectives for a U.S.-EU Trade Agreement

The U.S. business community is encouraged that the U.S. and the European Union (EU) have returned to the negotiating table and are committed to securing tangible improvements in the transatlantic commercial relationship. In recent years, the EU has negotiated major new market opening agreements with a number of countries. Indeed, just this week the European Parliament ratified an agreement between the EU and Japan, a deal that is expected to enter into force early next year. It is vital that the U.S. pursue a robust and positive trade agenda, and these negotiations with the EU present an important opportunity to do just that. We cannot afford to fall further behind in securing closer commercial ties with our allies and major trading partners.

In keeping with the Chamber’s mission to advocate for free enterprise, competitive markets, and rules-based trade and investment, one of the Chamber’s primary objectives in these negotiations will be to pursue measures that remove—and do not raise—barriers to trade. To ensure this, we recommend hewing closely to the negotiating objectives established in the Trade Promotion Authority law.

There are a range of near term opportunities for forward momentum in the transatlantic economic relationship.