The European Commission has welcomed a decision by the European Council to adopt the negotiating directives for trade talks with the United States. European Union (EU) members gave the commission the nod to start formal negotiations with the United States on two agreements, one on conformity assessment, and the other on eliminating tariffs on industrial products. The step will continue to deliver on the implementation of the joint statement agreed by Presidents Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Trump in July last year. This is just three months after the European Commission had put forward the mandates and in line with the conclusions of the March European Council, during which EU leaders called for a ‘rapid implementation of all elements of the US-EU Joint Statement of 25 July 2018’, according to an EU press release. EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said the decision will help ease trade tensions. The directives for the negotiations cover two potential agreements with the United States: a trade agreement strictly focused on industrial goods, excluding agricultural products; and second agreement on conformity assessment to make it easier for companies to prove their products meet technical requirements on both sides of the Atlantic. In line with the directives agreed by EU governments, the commission will further examine the potential economic, environmental and social impacts of the agreement, taking into account the commitments of the EU in international agreements, including the Paris Agreement on climate change. An economic analysis by the European Commission already indicates that an EU-US agreement on eliminating tariffs on industrial goods would increase EU exports to the United States by 8 per cent and US exports to the EU by 9 per cent by 2033. This corresponds to additional gains of €27 billion and €26 billion in EU and US exports respectively.
