Bruton meets Obama aides on EU-US deal

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton will meet senior figures from the Obama administration today in Washington to discuss the new EU-US Free Trade Agreement as part of the Irish presidency of the EU Council.

The Minister, who flew into Washington on Saturday night following a four-day trade mission to Texas, will meet ambassador Ron Kirk, the US trade representative, and Mike Froman, the White House's deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs.

President Obama said in his state of the union speech last month that negotiations would start on a free trade agreement between the EU and the US, a pact that would promote economic growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

The proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership will not just remove tariffs but open markets on investment, services and public procurement, and align rules and technical standards for products. Mr Bruton said the agreement could boost economic activity of more than ¤100 billion, equal to about 0.5 per cent on each side of the Atlantic.

"This has clear benefits to Ireland where over 115,000 people are directly employed in over 700 US firms in Ireland," he said.

"US firms contribute over ¤3 billion annually to the Irish exchequer in taxes and an additional ¤14 billion to the Irish economy in expenditure on payrolls, goods and services.

"Ireland's exporters also stand to benefit significantly from a new deal. Conservative estimates put these benefits at over ¤100 million each year."

The Minister will hold a meeting of EU trade ministers in Dublin in April where they will try to seek agreement giving the European Commission the mandate to open negotiations with their US counterparts on a new deal.

Mr Bruton travelled on the trade mission to Dallas, Houston and Austin, where the trip culminated in 13 Irish technology companies participating in the South by South West Interactive Festival.

The Minister led 40 Irish companies to Texas and attended more than 20 trade and investment-related meetings and events.