The public on both sides of the Atlantic will be able to scrutinise the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) once negotiations are complete, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Julieta Noyes reassured the media last week.

She was on a seven-stop visit around Europe with Malta as her last visit. While here, she held talks with Foreign Minister George Vella.

She also briefed the media about the progress of the seventh round of talks on the trade and investment deal, held in Washington, saying that some 24 areas had been tackled at very technical levels.

Challenged about the fact that the details of the agreement were still being kept under wraps, she compared it to the making of a film.

“Would you want to see the raw footage of the film and all the scenes, even if there is a chance they would not make it through the editing? Wouldn’t you prefer to see the final film and then decide whether you like it or not?” she said.

She is a passionate exponent of the agreement, saying that it would be “transformational” for SMEs.

Would you want to see the raw footage of the film even if there is a chance they would not make it through the editing?

“Multinationals can afford to wade through the regulation and inspections and procedures; SMEs find it much more of a hurdle. If TTIP can cut through duplication, reduce redundancies and find a mutual basis for recognition – without lowering standards in any way – it will make it much easier and faster for SMEs – including Maltese ones, of course – and it will also cut down on costs, which will be passed on to the consumer,” she said.

Ms Noyes said the talks would get fresh impetus once the new European Commission was in place.

In a statement about the talks, the chief negotiator for the EU, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, said that President-elect Juncker had highlighted TTIP as one of his 10 priorities for the new Commission.

“We will continue working towards an ambitious agreement and will not compromise on the protection of the environment, health, safety, consumers, data privacy, or any other public policy goals, nor on the right of the governments to regulate,” Mr Garcia Bercero said.

The idea of TTIP was first mooted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2008. There had been hopes that the talks could be concluded by the end of this year – but while the EU and Canada managed to hammer out an agreement since then, the EU and US still have quite a way to go.

“You have to look at the scope of the agreement with Canada and that of TTIP...” Ms Noyes said.

“We believe that it is more important to get the best agreement possible rather than to worry about speeding it up.”

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