US commerce secretary: US, Europe should have trade accord
BERLIN, June 28, (Agencies): US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Tuesday that the United States and the European Union should have a free trade agreement, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for work on such an accord to resume.
President Donald Trump has withdrawn the US from an agreement with nations around the Pacific, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but the fate of a proposed trade deal with the EU has been less clear. Merkel vowed recently not to give up on that accord, the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.
Ross told a conference in Berlin attended by Merkel that the US had made a “conscious decision not to walk away from TTIP” when it ditched the Pacific accord. That, he said, signaled Washington’s receptiveness to trade negotiations with Europe.
“I stand before you tonight to say this in a more explicit fashion: we, as major trading partners of each other, should have a free trade agreement,” Ross said. He addressed the event, organized by a group linked to Merkel’s party, by video link after cancelling a trip to Berlin on short notice.
“In contrast to the behavior of some other nations, the relatively small number of trade disputes between our countries augurs well for the enforceability of any such agreement,” Ross added.
The Trump administration sees “little point in negotiating treaties that will not be honored,” he said. “We believe that we have in Europe a good counterparty with whom we have had, and will continue to have, productive discussions that benefit all.”
He didn’t specify when talks should be held on an accord.
Merkel said Tuesday she wanted to resume talks between the European Union and the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
“I am in favour of resuming negotiations on such a free trade accord — and also resolving all the problems together,” Merkel told an economic symposium of her ruling Christian Democratic Party.
Initial talks on the TTIP, which would create a huge free trade area on both sides of the Atlantic, came to a halt when Donald Trump won the US presidency after campaigning on a protectionist programme. On taking office he withdrew from the TransPacific Partnership trade deal with Pacific Rim economies — but Ross said last month Washington was “open” to resuming TTIP talks.
“It makes sense to continue TTIP negotiations and to work towards a solution that increases overall trade while reducing our trade deficit,” Ross told broadcaster CNBC on May 31.
Bent on tackling trade deficits the Trump administration Trump now appears to have its heart set on reducing the trade imbalance with EU states, Germany in particular, in the hope it can open up their markets for US firms.
Germany, which last year turned in a record trade surplus, has been in Washington’s sights since Trump came to power.