EU looks to October talks to advance bid for US trade dea

[BRUSSELS] European Union and US negotiators will meet in October as part of efforts to complete a trade deal by the end of 2016, said Ignacio Garcia Bercero, chief EU negotiator on the planned Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

The talks, set to take place in the US, will be followed by another round in December or January. He said it's too soon to lay out detailed milestones for how the talks will progress.

"We think it's possible to bring this deal forward toward a political conclusion between now and the end of next year," Garcia Bercero said at a Centre for European Policy Studies event in Brussels. He said the quality of the deal will take precedence over timing, and he reiterated that market access on tariffs, procurement, services and agriculture will be priorities as talks continue.

BLOOMBERG