On June 17, 2013, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a fact sheet announcing that the U.S. and the European Union (E.U.) will begin negotiations towards a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) agreement.
According to the USTR, the T-TIP agreement "will aim to boost economic growth in the United States and the EU and add to the more than 13 million American and EU jobs already supported by transatlantic trade and investment.
The main areas of focus of the U.S.-E.U. T-TIP are:
- To further open European markets
- To eliminate all tariffs on trade
- To strengthen trade relationships
- To minimize non-tariff barriers
The first round of negotiations will take place the week of July 8 of this year, in Washington D.C.
The USTR Fact Sheet is available online here.
