WASHINGTON: With the anti-globalization wave impacting major elections, including that of US President-elect Donal Trump, the United States and European Union made a final pleaon Tuesday to conclude a trans-Atlantic free trade deal.

Just three days away from Trump’s inauguration, and on the same day British Prime Minister Theresa May unveiled her Brexit blueprint, Washington and Brussels issued a joint report to sell the benefits of the massive trade pact that just needs the political will to conclude.

The rationale for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) “is even stronger today than it was when we started these negotiations,” US Trade Representative Michael Froman said in a statement.

“We launched the TTIP negotiations in 2013 because we were convinced that the transatlantic trade relationship, already the biggest in the world, could be an even stronger driver of job creation, growth and competitiveness on both sides of the Atlantic.”

The joint report said that “with the political will to prioritize long-term gains for our economies and our broader relationship, US and the EU could achieve what we set out to do in 2013: conclude an ambitious, balanced, comprehensive and high-standard agreement.”

Published in Dawn January 18th, 2017