EU, US See Progress in Talks on TTIP Regulations

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The European Union and the United States "made technical progress" in discussions of regulatory cooperation at the 10th round of negotiations for the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) treaty, but much more needs to be done, the European Commission said Friday.

The 10th round of the TTIP talks took place in Brussels July 13-17.

"Technical progress was made in the regulatory pillar but there remains significant work ahead," the European Commission said in a report.

Negotiators discussed regulatory cooperation concerning automobiles, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, textiles, information and communications technologies, engineering and pesticides.

Apart from regulatory cooperation, negotiators discussed "services… market access goods text and agriculture market access text. No discussions took place on tariffs or procurement during this round."

According to the document, the next round of TTIP negotiations will take place in the third quarter of 2015 in the United States. The exact date and venue of the talks are yet to be determined.

The TTIP is a controversial US-advocated trade pact that seeks to create the world's largest legislated trade zone. Critics point out that the treaty takes trade legislation and copyright control away from sovereign nations.

More than 2.4 million Europeans voiced their opposition to the deal by signing an online petition against the TTIP and a similar agreement with Canada, known as the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).