New discussions on the European Union’s pending Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States were unlikely, the bloc’s top trade official said Friday, days after Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the presidential election.
“With the new [US] president-elect, we don’t really know what will happen,” Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said ahead of the meeting.
The EU and US have been negotiating TTIP for more than three years, with supporters saying it would create growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. Critics fear that it will benefit large corporations at the expense of consumers and local employees.
“There is strong reason to believe that there would be a pause in TTIP, that this might not be the biggest priority for the new administration,” Malmstrom said.
Trump has blasted the effects of globalization and free trade on the US economy during his campaign and has implied that TTIP would not be implemented during his presidency.
“Whether it makes sense to have new rounds – well, probably not,” Malmstrom said.
In addition to TTIP, EU trade ministers are also due to discuss EU trade defence instruments, including so-called “anti-dumping” measures to protect EU industry against unfairly cheap imports.
