POLITICO: ‘A midsummer night’s nightmare’ for European trade

06/27/2016

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June 27, 2016 I By: HANS VON DER BURCHARD & ALBERTO MUCCI The U.K.’s decision to leave the EU means the loss of a major political and economic partner with a history of championing free trade at a critical moment for a mammoth agreement being negotiated with the U.S. At the very least, this latest blow to an already strained effort is sure to make the task of reaching an EU-U.S. trade deal that much more difficult.
“A midsummer night’s nightmare” was how European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström labeled the Brexit decision on Twitter.
Some are putting the best face on it they can, saying they will redouble efforts to keep momentum going for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the U.S., negotiations with the South American bloc Mercosur, Mexico and Asian countries, and ratifying a trade pact with Canada, a Commission official said. “Brexit makes our trade agenda much more urgent,” said Daniel Caspary, a German Christian Democrat MEP and spokesman of the center-right EPP group in the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade. To read the full article please click here.