Germany, US Eye "Unique" Transatlantic Trade Deal

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said the United States and Europe had a "unique opportunity" for a free-trade deal that could raise living standards on both sides of the Atlantic.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

Finance, US, World

Topics

Finance, United States, Europe, Economic Policy

People

Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, John Kerry

Places

United States of America, Germany, Berlin

Transcript

SHOTLIST: BERLIN, FEBRUARY 26, 2013, SOURCE: GERMAN CHANCELLERY / NO RESALE FOR NON EDITORIAL PURPOSES SOUNDBITE 1 John Kerry (man), US secretary of State,(English, 30 secs): "President Obama believes there is a really unique opportunity looking at us now. And that is, for the Transatlantic partnership, investment and trade agreement. We think this is something that can help the economy of Europe, strengthening our economy, create jobs, for Americans, for Germans, for all Europeans, and create one of the largest allied markets in the world." -VAR from press conference with John Kerry and Angela Merkel --------------------- AFP TEXT STORY: Germany-US-trade Germany, US eye 'unique' transatlantic trade deal BERLIN, Feb 26, 2013 (AFP) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday said the United States and Europe had a "unique opportunity" for a free-trade deal that could raise living standards on both sides of the Atlantic. Speaking ahead of a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Kerry said President Barack Obama saw a "really unique opportunity looking at us now" in the shape of a mooted US-EU trade deal. "We think this is something that can help lift the economy of Europe, strengthen our economy, create job for Americans, for Germans, for all Europeans and create one of the largest allied markets in the world," said Kerry. "It will help raise standards, it help break down barriers and we believe it is good for all of us," added the secretary. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said that an accord between the world's two biggest trading blocs would add 0.5 percent to the EU economy every year. The US has said there was an 18-month timeframe for an initial deal, before a new European Commission is seated late in 2014. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said after meeting Kerry earlier Tuesday it was "desirable that we could push forward the preparatory work so well that we could start the negotiations in summer." "A free-trade deal would create growth on both sides of the Atlantic. It would create growth and new jobs and that growth could be created without new debt," enthused Westerwelle. ric/spm