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Transatlantic Coordinator on the being granted authority to finalise US Government trade agreements
After intense legislative debates in the US Congress, President Barack Obama signed the Trade Promotion Authority bill into law on 29 June, granting his government authority to finalise ongoing free trade negotiations, including those on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Jürgen Hardt, Member of the Bundestag and Coordinator of Transatlantic Cooperation, issued the following statement in this connection:
I welcome the signing of the Trade Promotion Authority by President Obama, which establishes the necessary clarity on the US side for the TTIP negotiations to now be urgently and purposefully resumed and brought to a successful conclusion.
The intense debate in Congress has shown once again how seriously American legislators take the protection of employee rights as well as high environmental, security and social standards. We share a common interest on both sides of the Atlantic in establishing TTIP as a new and modern benchmark for future free trade agreements.
Our aim now must be to swiftly continue the negotiations, including on controversial issues, in order to have drawn up the essential tenets of the future TTIP by the end of this year.
