TTIP can add £10bn to UK economy

Lord Livingston has claimed that the negotiations between the UK and the US over a European Union trade deal could add £10 billion a year to Britain’s coffers.

UK trade minister Lord Livingston said that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) has the potential to transform Britain’s economy, by adding as much as £10 billion to it annually.

Although opponents of the yet to be finalised agreement believe that it would have a detrimental effect, Lord Livingston, who was chief executive of British Telecom until last year, brushed aside such arguments, saying the opposite in most cases is true.

TTIP will lead to a positive change, for citizens and businesses working and living in the EU.

For example, workers will benefit from higher wages – a result of gains in manufacturing, small businesses have more of a global reach – while consumers will be able to choose from more and cheaper goods.

“I have talked a lot to UK financial institutions,” he went on to say when asked whether banking regulations would be compromised or made obsolete. “None of them are wanting to use this to reduce standards or row back.”

TTIP seeks to remove current trade barriers across a whole range of sectors between the US and the EU so that there is less red tape, bureaucracy and superfluous charges that prevent it from being as seamless as possible.

“On top of cutting tariffs across all sectors, the EU and the US want to tackle barriers behind the customs border – such as differences in technical regulations, standards and approval procedures,” the European Commission has stated.

“These often cost unnecessary time and money for companies who want to sell their products on both markets. For example, when a car is approved as safe in the EU, it has to undergo a new approval procedure in the US even though the safety standards are similar.”

< Top image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office >