Following the European Union’s decision to lift sanctions on US goods including leather and textiles, worth approximately $4 billion to US exporters per annum, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has begun a visit to the United States. The decision to end the 14/% punitive tariffs on goods, which will be implemented retrospectively back to January 1, 2005,  marked the end of a bitter dispute between the EU and USA, which have the largest trading relationship in the world.

Mr Mandelson has held meetings with United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick and US Secretary of the Treasury John Snow, Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and Congressional and Senate leaders. On Friday, February 11, he is to give a speech to the US Chamber of Commerce on trade and transatlantic relations, following the ending of the tariff.

The visit, which is Mr Mandelson’s first visit to Washington as EU Trade Commissioner, comes at a time of intense activity in transatlantic relationship. It is expected to focus on moves to deepen the EU-US trading relationship and on the best way to achieve an ambitious result in the ongoing Doha round of international trade talks.

Speaking before his departure Mr Mandelson said: “This is a time of renewal in transatlantic relations. Trade and investment are the bedrock of transatlantic relations and our trading relationship is almost entirely dispute free. The EU and the US need to offer joint global leadership. In the Doha round of international trade talks, both the EU and the US must work for ambitious agreement that achieves greater market access on services, industrial products and agriculture and delivers clear benefits for developing countries”.

Meanwhile, the European Union has announced that it will not impose quotas on textiles imports from China. Mr Mandelson’s spokesperson stated the EU had no intention of applying quotas to Chinese goods and was seeking a smooth transition into a new era of quota-free trade.

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