US Businesses Remain Committed to TTIP as France, Germany Show Reluctance

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — US businesses remain committed to concluding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade agreement and delivering the "best possible deal" despite the recently-voiced reluctance by France and Germany, policy officer for the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union (AmCham EU) Timothy Adamson told Sputnik.

Earlier on Tuesday, both French President Francois Hollande and German Economic Affairs Minister Sigmar Gabriel suggested in separate statements that it would be impossible to conclude the TTIP agreement before the end of the year.

"AmCham EU and business groups in the EU and US are convinced that TTIP would boost growth, jobs and standards on both sides of the Atlantic. We remain ready and willing to engage with all stakeholders to help deliver the best possible deal," Adamson said.

Talks between such large and integrated economies as the United States and the European Union, are extremely time-consuming, the AmCham EU policy officer noted. However, the speed of the talks is not what matters in the end.

"After three years of negotiations, the TTIP talks between the EU and US remain on track. As both sides reiterated this week, the EU and US remain deeply committed to concluding a high-standard, comprehensive deal by the end of 2016," Adamson said.

TTIP seeks to establish a free trade zone between the United States and Europe. The US government started discussions on the draft deal with the European Union in 2013. The details of the TTIP deal, including specific rules of market access, have not been released to the public. The TTIP agreement has drawn severe criticism for the lack of transparency in the negotiations as well as for the tremendous power it would potentially give to international corporations.