US 'open' to resuming TTIP talks with EU

The United States is "open" to resuming talks with the European Union on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a senior US official said.

"The EU is one of our largest trading partners, and any negotiations legally must be conducted at the EU level and not with individual nations. Thus, it makes sense to continue TTIP negotiations and to work towards a solution that increases overall trade while reducing our trade deficit," US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on CNBC.

The TTIP, launched in 2013, would set up a huge free trade area on both sides of the Atlantic.

Talks around the proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership were put on hold after US President Donald Trump's election last year.

Brussels and Washington had sought to get the TTIP deal through by the time Obama left office but fell short.

One of Trump's earliest moves was to back the US withdrawal from another free trade agreement, the TPP, which had been signed by the United States with 11 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan and Australia.

Earlier this month, Asia-Pacific trade ministers agreed to try to revive TPP, even though the United States reaffirmed its decision to pull out.

The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership covered 40 percent of the global economy before Trump abandoned it when he took office in January to meet a campaign promise.

Japan, Australia and New Zealand are leading efforts by the so-called TPP 11 to resuscitate the agreement, convinced it will lock in future free trade and strengthen labor rights and environmental protections

"It's no mistake that, while we withdrew from TPP (the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal with Pacific Rim economies) we did not withdraw from TTIP," Ross added

The remarks marked a shift for the administration of rump and come as the United States and Germany clash on policies including diplomacy and trade.

Less than a week ago, after meeting with Ross, German economics minister Brigitte Zypries told a German newspaper: "It is not likely the US will resume negotiations over TTIP."