Negotiation of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the US-EU free trade agreement, is back on track! After completing an ambitious first round of negotiations in July, the United States was forced to cancel the second round of negotiations scheduled for October due to the shutdown of the U.S. government. Today, however, the Office of the United States Trade Representative announced that the next round of negotiations will take place in Brussels from November 11 through 15. This round of talks will not be comprehensive, but will cover services, investment, energy and raw materials, and regulatory issues. Talks on other areas will be conducted by video conference throughout November.
Following the meetings next week, the next round of negotiations will take place in Washington, DC from December 16 through 20. The full text of the USTR announcement can be found here.
