Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2015 to Question 657, what tangible progress towards the EU-US Free Trade Agreement had been made by the end of 2015; and whether any agreement in principle had been reached on that matter by that date.

There have now been eleven rounds of negotiations for the EU-US Free Trade Agreement also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). A significant step forward was taken last June when the US Congress passed the Trade Promotion Authority bill (fast track authority for trade agreements). The agreement reached at the end of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (in the Asia Pacific region) last October is further good news, and allows the US to increase focus on TTIP.

The last negotiating round took place in October. A significant milestone was reached with the exchange of revised tariff offers, which would see tariffs almost completely removed. Negotiators also discussed all aspects of market access in public procurement. This helps prepare the ground for the first exchange of procurement offers expected in February.

We are making tangible progress and our ambition remains to reach an agreement under the Obama presidency.