EU and US press ahead with controversial free trade area talks

European Union and the United States poised to create the largest free trade area in the world with billions of euro worth of goods and services going on the open market

Critics are concerned that the agreement will drive down standards of consumer protection and food safety and will cost jobs.
Critics are concerned that the agreement will drive down standards of consumer protection and food safety and will cost jobs.

Officials from the United States and the European Union say they have made progress as they seek to sweep away trade barriers.

Teams from the two sides have held a week of discussions in Chevy Chase, Maryland.

If successful an agreement would create the world's biggest free trade zone.

The chief US negotiator Dan Mullaney said the ultimate goal is to "create opportunities for job creating trade and investment".

At a closing press conference, the chief negotiators from the two sides declined to give a timetable for finishing the exercise, insisting that it's important to get it right. But while trade officials get on with detail, some of the general principles continue to generate vocal opposition.

Perhaps the most controversial area is the provision for foreign investors to go to an international tribunal for compensation if a government breaks the rules in a way that harms the company's interests. The EU has held a public consultation on the provision and is currently analysing the responses.

The opposition to this idea has been taken up by the German government, so it remains uncertain whether it would appear in any final agreement. Other critics are concerned that an agreement will drive down standards of consumer protection and food safety and will cost jobs.

Director of War on Want, John Hilary, argues that TTIP undermines democracy. He says some of the provisions would result in government regulations effectively being subject to a "vetting process" by private business, if the plans to enable companies to sue governments and for business representatives to sit on regulatory bodies go ahead.

Campaigners say the deal is all about feeding corporate greed and that standards in the EU will fall because the US has softer regulation in areas such as workers' rights, food standards and environmental safeguards. This assertion, however, is being rejected by those who are negotiating TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Despite the reassurances campaigners insist that the TTIP deal, as currently stands, will greatly erode EU public services including health and education.

Some analysts are also skeptical about claims from the outgoing European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, that the EU's economy will be boosted if the accord is signed. EU authorities are rejecting claims that TTIP will result in millions of job losses due to deregulation and greater competition.

EU and US negotiators say they want the TTIP trade deal to come into effect next year but in the meantime civil rights groups are planning to stage dozens of public protests across the EU.