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| Study arms Czech government in support of EU-US trade deal |
| Prag, 29.04.2016 |
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| Around two weeks ago we reported on how various Czech groups were putting pressure on the Czech government regarding its stance over the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Agreement (TTIP), the deal aimed at paving the way for what might amount to a free trade zone between the EU and US.
The groups were asking for more information about the deal and undertakings that basic European rules and regulations would not be watered down in a drive towards common standards. Although far from a reply, a study by independent experts for the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been released this week which aims to put some figures on the possible benefits of the trade deal.
The deputy minister at the ministry most involved in the trade talks, Vladimír Bärtl, says many of the groups opposing TTIP have misunderstood its goals. He says some of the Czech sectors which stand to benefit most are the car making, engineering, pharmaceutical, chemical, and food sectors. As regards the study, Bärtl admits that it assumptions have been pretty broad as it is trying to get to grips with a work that is still very much in progress.
“First of all, it has to be said that this study – it’s unusual that we are actually asking to make a study when the final text is not completed. But considering that TTIP is an initiative which is different from FTAs [Foreign Trade Agreements], for many reasons we have decided to ask for and conduct such a study. Also, we have to say that this is an independent study, it is not a position paper for the Czech Republic.
“It is not about harmonization at all.”
“As regards the scenarios, since we don’t know the shape of the final text and also because the ties at the moment between the EU and USA are quite intense, there are still [customs] duties. In most areas of industry they are at a low level but there is still room to reduce them lower and this is the main goal for the interested parties. What we see as a crucial potential in the TTIP is the search for the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade. You can understand that the effects of removing non-tariff barriers cannot be simply calculated at the moment because it is really hard to estimate the amounts of cost savings. So the group of authors who made the impact study worked with scenarios about the elimination of duties at the level of around 90 percent; and then the complete elimination of duties; and then the complete elimination of duties and at the same time decrease of costs for about 5 percent based on non-tariff barriers; and the last one is the complete elimination of duties and at the same time a decrease of costs of about 20 percent as a consequence of the elimination of non-tariff barriers.”
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Address : Euro-Brew Ltd., Hlboká 22, 917 01 Trnava, Slovakia
Tel. : +421 33 53 418 53, Fax : +421 33 53 418 52, E-mail : info@eurobrew.sk |
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