Malta in favour of Trans Atlantic Trade Agreement – Economy Minister

Malta is in favour of continued negotiations for the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Economy Minister Chris Cardona said. The TTIP is a proposed free trade agreement between the European Union and the United States.

Cardona said that this agreement has the potential of improving commerce between the European Union and the United States, which will stimulate economic growth in both regions.

He was speaking at an informal meeting of EU commerce ministers that dealt with the TTIP, the EU’s relations with Russia and Ukraine, and the EU’s commercial policies.

However, Cardona said that Malta is concerned at the inaccessibility of US documents that must be analysed to discover the United States’ position on the maritime, aviation and gaming sectors. Cardona added that the EU currently has limited access to the US market in the maritime sector. 
On Saturday, activists opposing the TTIP agreement were prohibited from organising a public dialogue at the EU commission’s seat in Europe House. Valletta. The Front Against TTIP (Malta) say that the TTIP will give multinational corporations the right to take action against democratically-elected national governments through the bypassing of national and European courts.