TTIP: US calls for ambitious agricultural talks, underlines Darci Vetter – US Department of Agriculture

Darci Vetter, Deputy Under Secretary at the US Department of Agriculture, met with AGRA FACTS journalist Rose O’Donovan at the Forum on the Future of Agriculture 2014, to discuss the EU-US trade deal from an agricultural perspective.

Negotiations on the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are going up a gear with the 4th round of talks in early March and US President Barack Obama’s recent visit to Brussels. The agricultural sector is an important chapter in the EU-US trade pact. Vetter, who was nominated as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the US Trade Representative in December 2013, underlines that both sides have some sensitivities regarding agricultural products. It is essential to address these sensitivities, while maintaining high animal, plant and food safety standards, she adds. On February 2014, both sides exchanged initial market access offers – EU-US negotiators are now ready to identify each other’s priorities and dig into the negotiations, Vetter stated.