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Prior to the fourth round of negotiations for the TTIP that will take place in March, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and United States Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman will meet in Washington DC next week to take stock of the negotiations to date.

André Sapir, Senior Fellow at Bruegel, highlights the relevance of these meetings to exchange key messages of the political discussions taking place in the US and Europe. ¨The fourth round of negotiations arrives at a time when TTIP is coming down to Earth and has gotten a great dose of realism,¨ Sapir says.

Before Barack Obama´s visit to Brussels in late March, Sapir thinks it is crucial that the US President overcomes political obstacles within his own party and obtains the trade promotion authority.

Regarding the outcome of the negotiations, André Sapir believes there will be no transatlantic harmonised regulation, and probably not even mutual recognition of EU and US regulatory frameworks. However, the positive impact of this round will come from the ability to progress on future regulation that can create compatible frameworks.