Minister Bruton: Irish Presidency on EU-US trade agenda

14-2-2013 — /europawire.eu/ — As Chair of the EU Trade Ministers Council, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, said:

“I welcome the confirmation by President Obama in his State of the Union speech of the United States’ commitment to deepening EU-US trade. EU leaders have last week signalled their support for an EU-US free trade agreement.

Such a trade and investment partnership agreement could bring annual benefits to the EU and US economies of over €100billion each. Such gains are crucial at a time like this. We have prioritised making real progress on this issue during the Irish Presidency, and we will hold a special informal meeting of Trade Ministers in Dublin in April as part of that goal.

The report of the High Level Group will help both sides develop the necessary political momentum to initiate a negotiation process. I look forward to working with my colleagues on this crucial issue which can bring significant benefits in terms of growth and job-creation for the EU and US economies.”

Read the full text of the final report of the EU-US High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth.

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