TTIP Deal 'Undoubtedly Beneficial' For EU, Says UK

by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London

23 December 2014

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has called on European businesses to unite to "bust the myths" around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, describing the proposed deal as "a free boost to the European economy."

Cameron made the comments at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) event in Brussels. Leaders from Spain, Italy, Poland, Denmark, Finland, and Latvia also took part in the discussions.

Cameron said: "The world needs growth, Europe needs growth, and what we need to see is jobs, investment, start-ups, and trade taking place. One area that's unconstrained is what we can do in structural reforms and trade, and TTIP could be a free boost to the European economy. What we're talking about is potentially the biggest trade deal in history, worth over GBP100bn (USD156bn) to the European Union (EU) economy alone."

He told the CBI event that good progress can be made if supporters of the agreement can create "a sense that businesses are going to work together across Europe to find really good examples about the importance of this deal and the benefits it will bring, and if we can agree to bust the myths that some people are putting around these deals."

In a new report on transatlantic trade, the CBI has identified five key reasons as to why concluding the TTIP is essential. They are that it will unlock big opportunities for small- and medium-sized companies; create greater choice and lower prices for consumers; reduce red tape and bureaucracy; establish a bigger footprint for the UK's service sector companies; and foster new and quality employment.