Biggest free trade agreement in the world in sight at last

After years of tentative steps, the EU and US at the G8 in Fermanagh finally officially launched the start of talks on what is expected to be the biggest free trade agreement in the world.

Negotiations will begin in Washington next week and will take about two years but they are not expected to proceed smoothly — as acknowledged by US President Barack Obama, who pledged to intervene to push them through, if necessary.

Trade between the two biggest economies globally accounts for 40% of the world’s GDP with goods and services wroth more than €2bn traded daily. A deal would, according to both sides, boost GDP in both economies by 0.5%, worth €68bn each, creating up to 400,000 jobs.