President Barack Obama’s two most ambitious trade deals appear increasingly in trouble, victims of electoral politics at home and in Europe and a ticking clock on his administration.
Neither the Trans-Pacific Partnership nor the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is dead, but analysts say the hurdles to getting either completed by the end of Obama’s term next January 20 are now almost insurmountable.
For the TPP, already negotiated with 11 other Pacific Rim countries and only needing ratification by the Congress, the political atmosphere has been soured with both presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, pitching for votes, saying they are opposed to it.
As for TTIP — a treaty with the entire European Union — negotiations are stuck on the toughest issues and European politicians, facing elections next year, are likewise declaring opposition.
French President Francois Hollande said Tuesday that TTIP talks “will not lead to an agreement by the end of the year,” and hours earlier his junior minister for trade Matthias Fekl called for an end to the talks.
“There is no more political support in France for these negotiations,” he said.
And in Germany, vice chancellor and economy minister Sigmar Gabriel said the talks “have de facto failed.”
While negotiators from both sides quickly responded that the talks were certainly alive and making progress, analysts said both TTIP and TPP would likely be stalled to at least 2018.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/elections-running-clock-frustrate-obamas-trade-deals-035136433.html
