Trump election to “freeze” EU-US free trade talks, EC believes

Free trade not top piority for Trump, says EC Trade Commissioner

The European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said she expected a suspension of talks between the US and the EU on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Friday, following the election of Donald Trump as US President. “Now there is a newly elected President. We do not know what exactly will happen. There are reasons for someone to believe that the TTIP will be interrupted”, admitted the EU Trade Commissioner arriving at the EU28 Trade Ministers’ meeting in Brussels. “This (talks) might not be the new US government’s first priority”, the Swedish politician stressed. Donald Trump had campaigned on platform of bringing back jobs to the US and had frequently criticised the free trade agreements the US had made, which he blamed for the fleeing of US industry abroad.