Bonanza hopes on EU-US trade

Barack Obama announced at yesterday’s G8 summit that America would host the first round of negotiations for the “potentially groundbreaking partnership”, which could be worth up to £100bn to the EU economy.

The US president promised to make the talks, which start next month in Washington and are expected to last up to two years, a priority of his remaining term in office.

“America and Europe have done extraordinary things together before and I believe we can forge an economic alliance as strong as our diplomatic and security alliances, which of course have been the most powerful in history,” he said.

The President made clear he expects a bumpy ride for the “challenging” trade talks, but insisted he will intervene to force them through.

“There are going to be sensitivities on both sides, there are going to be politics on both sides, but if we can look behind the narrow concerns to stay focused on the big picture, the economic and strategic importance of this partnership, I am hopeful we can achieve the kind of high-standard, comprehensive agreement that the global trading system is looking to us to develop,” he said.

Mr Obama said the leaders would be giving a “mandate” to their negotiators, but added that it was likely they would have to step in personally to resolve particularly difficult issues.

“Nevertheless, I am confident we can get it done,” he said.

President Obama said the trade relationship between the EU and US was the largest in the world and it was important that they “get it right”.

“That means resisting the tempation to downgrade our ambition or avoid tough issues just for the sake of getting a deal,” he said.

David Cameron said breaking down trade barriers could create two million extra jobs and would help to “fire up” global economies.

Speaking at a Press conference at the summit in Lough Erne, Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister said the deal would be the biggest in history and was a “once in a generation prize” he was determined to seize.

“There is no more powerful way to achieve that than by boosting trade and there’s no better way than by launching these negotiations on a landmark deal between the European Union and the United States of America, a deal that could add as much as £100bn to the EU economy, £80bn to the US economy and as much as £85bn to the rest of the world,” he said.

“They mean extra jobs, more choice and lower prices in our shops.”

He added: “We are talking about what could be the biggest bilateral trade deal in history. A deal that will have a greater impact than all the other trade deals on the table put together.”

Mr Cameron believes the pact, dubbed an “economic Nato”, could be worth £10bn to the UK economy – the equivalent of £380 for every British household.

“If we sign trade deals and start trade negotiations here at this meeting in Northern Ireland, that will cut prices and mean a wider range of goods in shops here in the United Kingdom and jobs here in the United Kingdom,” said Mr Cameron. “So my focus is very clear – getting agreements, signing deals, making progress on issues that will help hard-working families right here in the United Kingdom.

“For me, that’s what the agenda of this G8 is all about.”

The progress made on the pact yesterday follows last-minute talks on Friday, when Europeans agreed a mandate for their negotiators after delays caused by French insistence on protecting its film, TV and music industries from US imports.

The European Commission now intends to “move forward fast” with negotiations, president Jose Manuel Barroso insisted.

He said: “We can say neither of us will give up content for the sake of speed but we intend to make rapid progress.”

Mr Barroso said “huge benefits” were expected to all parties from reducing the red tape between them. He added: “Integrating two of the most developed, most sophisticated and certainly the largest economies in the world can never be an easy task but we will find convincing answers to legitimate concerns, we will find solutions to thorny issues, we will keep our eyes on the prize and we will succeed.”

Reflecting a sense that the trans-Atlantic represents the best chance for the old powers of Europe and America to compete with emerging giants like China and India, European Council president Herman van Rompuy said: “The Atlantic is not the past. It is also the future.”

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