Europe and the United States expressed cautious optimism on Friday that a transatlantic free trade agreement could be concluded by the end of 2016.
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the U.S. and the European Union is claimed to possibly boost each economy by about 100 billion U.S. dollars by its supporters.
Negotiators from both sides of the Atlantic wrapped up the latest round of talks in Brussels saying most that the outstanding issues could be resolved by July.
"We now have proposed texts in the vast majority of the negotiating areas and in many cases, we are already removing brackets and agreeing on wording. In short, we are well into the nitty gritty of negotiating this agreement," said Dan Mullaney, Chief U.S. Negotiator.
The aim is to conclude an agreement before the U.S. presidential election this year which will usher in a new leader who may have different priorities.
"We are ready to seek to conclude negotiations in 2016, provided that the substance is right so we must ensure that we pick up the pace and give the necessary impulse to get this agreement right," said Ignacio Garcia Bercero, Chief E.U. Negotiator.
However, the transatlantic trade deal also has plenty of opponents on both sides of the Atlantic.
In Europe critics claim the free trade and investment deal would undermine the ability of E.U. member states to set their own environmental and health policies. Others claim it won't make much difference given that very few trade barriers remain between the U.S. and Europe.
However, the deal known as TTIP is designed to go beyond traditional tariff cutting, seeking agreements on regulations and rules that could provide a global standard.
In the latest round of talks negotiators discussed streamlining regulation in areas ranging from automotive and pharmaceuticals sectors to cosmetics, engineering and Information Technology.
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