TTIP: No EU-US trade deal by 2015, says TTIP expert - by

“I don't think the [TTIP] deal is going to be done in 2015,” said Joseph P. Quinlan, Senior Fellow at the Centre for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins University.

In an interview with EurActiv's Editor-in-Chief Daniela Vincenti at the Transatlantic Conference, organised by the American Chamber of Commerce [AMCHAM], Quinlan also said that he is “still optimistic” that the EU and the US can reach an agreement.

“In 2016, 2017 we keep talking, we keep narrowing the differences until we get a deal that is beneficial to all stakeholders,” Quinlan added.

Negotiations between the US and the EU on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) started in July 2013. If successful, TTIP would cover more than 40% of global GDP and account for large shares of world trade and foreign direct investment.

The EU-US trade relationship is already the biggest in the world.

But anti-TTIP campaigners claim the deal will lead to a lowering of environmental, food safety and other standards. They have also criticised a lack of transparency in the talks.

Read more: No EU-US trade deal by 2015, says TTIP expert | EurActiv