Poland backs EU-US trade deal: development minister
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
02.03.2016 15:08
Warsaw is in favour of a new transatlantic trade pact between Europe and the United States because it would provide a spur for Poland to develop, Development Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Wednesday.
Mateusz MorawieckiPhoto: Flickr.com/Kancelaria Prezesa Rady Ministrów
Speaking at a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce in Poland, Morawiecki, who is also a deputy prime minister, said: "We are in favor of signing this agreement, because the flow of goods, increasing the duty-free zone to include the US market… would give us a further impetus for development."
He added, however, that Poland has concerns over the final shape of a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal between the US and the EU.
"We have our concerns, particularly in two areas: in terms of the chemicals industry and the principles of settling disputes under international agreements. And we will press our case on these two issues.”
The main aim of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which has been negotiated since 2013, is to create a free-trade area between the US and the European Union.
Critics in Europe have voiced fears that such a new deal would lower food safety, environmental and labour standards. (pk)
Source: PAP