[h=3]By NICHOLAS WINNING[/h]ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland—The U.S. and the European Union announced they will start talks to build an ambitious trans-Atlantic free-trade agreement.
The announcement at a summit of leaders of the Group of Eight leading nations Monday marks a significant result for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and the U.K.'s efforts to advance free trade during its yearlong presidency of the G-8—the grouping that comprises the U.S. and U.K., Japan, Germany, Russia, Canada, France and Italy. The EU also participates in the talks. The G-8 summit is also expected to focus on combating tax evasion and avoidance and increasing corporate transparency.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesU.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visit a school in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Monday ahead of he official start of the G-8 summit.
U.S. and European leaders make a key decision this week on whether to proceed with negotiations on a trade pact that could boost growth and make them more competitive against Asia. WSJ’s Simon Nixon looks at the benefits and the problems.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said ahead of the announcement that the impending launch of the negotiations was "a true game changer for the global economy."
The green light for talks to start appeared closer Friday after EU ministers agreed on a mandate to negotiate a sweeping trade and investment pact with the U.S., overcoming differences between France and its partners over its potential impact on subsidies for filmmakers and other artists.
An official for the Obama administration said Sunday that it was important that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations be comprehensive.
Officials want the deal to be ambitious: They hope it will largely eliminate trade tariffs and harmonize regulations across a broad range of industries, greasing the gears of trans-Atlantic trade and investment, the world's biggest two-way economic relationship.
But the talks become trickier with greater ambition. Besides negotiating directly with the U.S., Europe must balance the interests of 27 different member states—28 once Croatia joins the bloc this summer—and the European Parliament, while the Obama administration must deal with a restive Congress and a thicket of lobbyists from industries whose fortunes could be changed by an agreement.
Last week, France successfully lobbied the EU to exclude European film, music and TV industries from the talks. Paris has long protected its audiovisual sector under a subsidy policy known as the "cultural exception."
Some EU officials now worry that the exclusion of one industry from the talks might spark similar demands from the U.S. in other industries, such as the financial sector. Both sides will also be hard pressed to reach an accord on agriculture, an area that has long dogged EU-U.S. relations.
But Mr. Barroso said Monday the audiovisual-sector exclusion wouldn't threaten the prospects of a successful conclusion. The commission had always agreed that cultural products—such as film, TV and music—could not be treated like other goods, and that some form of "quotas or subsidies" would continue to be necessary to protect cultural and linguistic diversity, he said.
—Stacy Meichtry contributed to this article.Write to Nicholas Winning at [email protected]
The announcement at a summit of leaders of the Group of Eight leading nations Monday marks a significant result for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron and the U.K.'s efforts to advance free trade during its yearlong presidency of the G-8—the grouping that comprises the U.S. and U.K., Japan, Germany, Russia, Canada, France and Italy. The EU also participates in the talks. The G-8 summit is also expected to focus on combating tax evasion and avoidance and increasing corporate transparency.
Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesU.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron visit a school in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Monday ahead of he official start of the G-8 summit.
U.S. and European leaders make a key decision this week on whether to proceed with negotiations on a trade pact that could boost growth and make them more competitive against Asia. WSJ’s Simon Nixon looks at the benefits and the problems.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso said ahead of the announcement that the impending launch of the negotiations was "a true game changer for the global economy."
The green light for talks to start appeared closer Friday after EU ministers agreed on a mandate to negotiate a sweeping trade and investment pact with the U.S., overcoming differences between France and its partners over its potential impact on subsidies for filmmakers and other artists.
An official for the Obama administration said Sunday that it was important that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations be comprehensive.
Officials want the deal to be ambitious: They hope it will largely eliminate trade tariffs and harmonize regulations across a broad range of industries, greasing the gears of trans-Atlantic trade and investment, the world's biggest two-way economic relationship.
But the talks become trickier with greater ambition. Besides negotiating directly with the U.S., Europe must balance the interests of 27 different member states—28 once Croatia joins the bloc this summer—and the European Parliament, while the Obama administration must deal with a restive Congress and a thicket of lobbyists from industries whose fortunes could be changed by an agreement.
Last week, France successfully lobbied the EU to exclude European film, music and TV industries from the talks. Paris has long protected its audiovisual sector under a subsidy policy known as the "cultural exception."
Some EU officials now worry that the exclusion of one industry from the talks might spark similar demands from the U.S. in other industries, such as the financial sector. Both sides will also be hard pressed to reach an accord on agriculture, an area that has long dogged EU-U.S. relations.
But Mr. Barroso said Monday the audiovisual-sector exclusion wouldn't threaten the prospects of a successful conclusion. The commission had always agreed that cultural products—such as film, TV and music—could not be treated like other goods, and that some form of "quotas or subsidies" would continue to be necessary to protect cultural and linguistic diversity, he said.
—Stacy Meichtry contributed to this article.Write to Nicholas Winning at [email protected]