US, EU meet to turn trade deal into long-term pact

TOP trade officials from the US and EU met yesterday to begin efforts to turn a much heralded deal to avert a trade war into a concrete long-term agreement.

After the meeting, European Union trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said she would meet US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer again by the end of the month.

But neither side announced any immediate breakthrough.

“We discussed how to move forward and identify priorities on both sides,” Malmstrom wrote on Twitter, “and how to achieve concrete results in the short to medium term.”

Lighthizer’s office called it a “constructive meeting.”

The negotiators’ cautious response to this first chance to “operationalize” plans for a limited trans-Atlantic trade pact came in stark contrast to the enthusiasm surrounding its birth.

In July, US President Donald Trump and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker pledged to hold off from further tit-for-tat tariffs and to work toward scrapping customs duties on all goods.

Both sides hailed the deal as a major breakthrough, but subsequent statements showed that disputes persist, especially over agriculture, which the US insists will be a key part of any deal.

“Lots of work remain this autumn, our services will be in close contact in the coming weeks,” Malmstrom said, promising that technical teams will meet in October.

Under pressure from France, Europe refuses to allow farm goods be included in trade talks, creating a sticking point that Malmstrom and Lighthizer must get past.