EU-US Trade Negotiations: Pace of EU-U.S. trade talks rest on vote – by Doug Palmer

A House vote on Friday could set the stage for a flurry of new trade agreements over the next six years — or potentially put U.S. trade negotiations in the deep freeze until the next president takes office in 2017.

U.S. union groups have made the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact public enemy No. 1 in their effort to defeat the “fast-track” trade bill headed to floor for a vote. But rejection of the trade promotion authority legislation would also endanger trade talks with Europe, negotiations aimed at eliminating tariffs on environmentally friendly goods and promising recent efforts to revive long-stalled world trade talks.

“This is really about the United States and its role in the world,” said Scott Miller, a trade analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “What the bill really does is give whoever the next president will be a stronger hand in helping to lead the economic side of foreign policy.”

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