The European Commission is ready with a proposed mandate for the future negotiations for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement with the United States. The draft mandate will now be sent to the Council for the Member States to approve it before negotiations can start.

One month after the announcement by the EU and the US to go for a trade deal, the European Commission announced that is ready with a proposed mandate for the future negotiations. The European Commission thus agreed the draft mandate for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement with the United States, effectively firing the starting gun for what is hoped to be a relatively quick negotiation.

At the same time, the European Commission released a report entitled 'Reducing Transatlantic Barriers to Trade and Investment', which shows that the final agreement could see EU exports to the US rise by 28%, earning its exporters of goods and services an extra €187 billion every year. Consumers will benefit too: on average, the agreement will offer an extra €545 in disposable income each year for a family of four living in the EU.

The aim of the agreement is to build a more integrated transatlantic marketplace, while respecting each side's right to regulate in a way that ensures the protection of health, safety and the environment at a level it considers appropriate. The Commission stressed that both sides hope that by aligning their domestic standards, they will be able to set the benchmark for developing global rules. Such a move would be clearly beneficial to both EU and US exporters, but it would also strengthen the multilateral trading system.