In an interview with Sputnik, Vladimir Olenchenko, a senior researcher at the Center for European Studies think tank in Moscow, said that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) was expected to become one of US President Barack Obama’s most important achievements.
“The Americans never miss a chance to push their political agenda and they have every reason to do so now that the EU has been trying hard to catch up with them. I believe they want to bring their economy together with the European one in a merger where the Europeans will be playing second fiddle to theirs,” Olenchenko said.
He added that Washington had apparently been unwilling to cede any ground to its European partners who, for their part, “dug their heels in refusing to bend under Washington’s pressure.”
“The Americans like to dominate and there is one thing they understand and this is counter pressure and a partner’s ability to hold out. In this particular situation the Americans have to admit that they had underestimated the EU’s firmness and I think the message they are getting from the German Economy Minister is that the talks are at a dead end and that they should stop pressuring the EU on this issue, at least for now,” Vladimir Olenchenko said.
This milestone deal would connect the two biggest markets in the world and bolster US leadership in writing the rules of global trade.
The US government started discussions over the free trade zone 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.
Recent leaks of the proposed agreement’s content revealed that the new regulations would violate environmental legislation, banking procedures, and investment rights.
Other countries involved in the TTIP include Canada, Mexico, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland.
