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free trade agreement

The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the announcement following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world.

EU-US trade is worth around 455 billion euros ($613 billion) a year.

Barack Obama announced US support for talks as part of his annual address to Congress on Tuesday, saying a free-trade deal would “boost American exports, support American jobs and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia”.

In a joint statement, US and EU leaders said trade between the US and EU supported millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We are committed to making this relationship an even stronger driver of our prosperity,” the statement said.

The EU estimates that a “comprehensive and ambitious agreement” will boost annual GDP growth by 0.5%.

It is not clear how long the talks will take, but similar trade deals have involved years of negotiations.

The idea was discussed following the formation of a working group in 2011, and the formal talks may begin in the summer, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.

He said the deal would focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade, and standardise technical regulations, standards and certifications.

The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history

The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history

Free trade between the US and the EU has been under informal discussion for years.

Previously politicians have been discouraged from pursuing free trade deals for fear of exposing domestic industries to greater competition from abroad.

But Steve Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank, said the economic crisis in Europe has injected more urgency into the talks.

“It’s happening now because there has been seriously depressed growth in the EU, and this will be good news for economic growth,” he said.

“On the American side, the critical factor is that Obama is now in his second term, so he doesn’t have the protectionist pressures from US businesses to worry about.”

Steve Davies said agriculture was likely to be particular area of contention, along with intellectual property, which could lead to political wranglings on both sides of the Atlantic.

Uniunea Europeana și SUA încep tratativele pentru acordul de liber schimb, care va duce la crearea celui mai mare acord comercial din istorie.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the announcement following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.

A deal would bring down trading barriers between the two biggest economies in the world.

EU-US trade is worth around 455 billion euros ($613 billion) a year.

Barack Obama announced US support for talks as part of his annual address to Congress on Tuesday, saying a free-trade deal would “boost American exports, support American jobs and level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia”.

In a joint statement, US and EU leaders said trade between the US and EU supported millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

“We are committed to making this relationship an even stronger driver of our prosperity,” the statement said.

The EU estimates that a “comprehensive and ambitious agreement” will boost annual GDP growth by 0.5%.

It is not clear how long the talks will take, but similar trade deals have involved years of negotiations.

The idea was discussed following the formation of a working group in 2011, and the formal talks may begin in the summer, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said.

He said the deal would focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade, and standardise technical regulations, standards and certifications.

The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history

The European Union and the US will begin formal talks on a free-trade agreement, paving the way for the biggest trade deal in history

Free trade between the US and the EU has been under informal discussion for years.

Previously politicians have been discouraged from pursuing free trade deals for fear of exposing domestic industries to greater competition from abroad.

But Steve Davies from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a think tank, said the economic crisis in Europe has injected more urgency into the talks.

“It’s happening now because there has been seriously depressed growth in the EU, and this will be good news for economic growth,” he said.

“On the American side, the critical factor is that Obama is now in his second term, so he doesn’t have the protectionist pressures from US businesses to worry about.”

Steve Davies said agriculture was likely to be particular area of contention, along with intellectual property, which could lead to political wranglings on both sides of the Atlantic.

The European Union and Singapore have clinched a free-trade agreement (FTA) – the second such deal between the 27-nation bloc and a major Asian trading partner.

Last year EU-Singapore trade was worth about 74 billion euros ($97 billion).

Singapore is the second largest Asian investor in the EU after Japan. The EU Commission says the deal – not yet signed by politicians – will help EU exports of cars and financial services.

An EU-South Korea FTA has been in operation since July 2011.

The EU is Singapore’s second biggest trade partner after neighboring Malaysia, Reuters news agency reports. The plan is to initial the FTA in early 2013.

The EU is also conducting FTA negotiations with Malaysia and Vietnam – like Singapore, members of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).

The new deal is expected to ease EU companies’ access to Singapore’s banking and financial services, and to its public procurement markets.

Acceptance of common standards should also help European car exporters – among the sectors hit especially hard by the current economic downturn.

The EU’s trade surplus with Singapore last year was 8 billion euros, with cars accounting for a big slice of the bloc’s exports.

Conservative MEP Syed Kamall will be the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the FTA. He said it would offer London’s professional services sector “excellent opportunities”.

He called Singapore “a massive and growing market” and “a key trade hub” which would open up European access to other markets in South-East Asia.