Baucus: U.S.-EU Trade Agreement Has Potential For Huge Job and Export Boost

Finance Chairman Also Pushes for Congress to Act on Trade Promotion Authority, Trade Adjustment Assistance

WASHINGTON –At a Senate Finance Committee hearing today, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the United States and European Union could yield huge economic benefits and create thousands of jobs across the country. He also highlighted the importance of passing Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to help the talks move forward.

“Every day, the U.S. and EU trade $2.7 billion in goods and services. We have invested nearly $4 trillion in each other’s economies. Seizing this opportunity for a new trade agreement would make that relationship even stronger,” Senator Baucus said. “This is all about jobs. This new trade agreement could add more than one hundred billion dollars annually to our economy, and it could support hundreds of thousands of new jobs right here in the U.S. We cannot pass that up.”

Senator Baucus said that an expansive deal that addresses numerous trade barriers could bring greater benefits to both economies. He identified the EU’s unscientific restrictions on U.S. agricultural exports, including beef and poultry, as one such barrier. Senator Baucus raised that issue with EU leaders while in Europe last year, pushing them to accept sound science and drop the restrictions.

Senator Baucus also emphasized the need for Congress to pass Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance in order to help ensure the nation’s trade agenda, including TTIP and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is a success.

“Congress needs to be a full partner in the development and execution of this agenda, and the best way to do that is to pass Trade Promotion Authority and Trade Adjustment Assistance – and to do it soon,” Senator Baucus said.

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