US Ambassador To EU Expects Von Der Leyen To Try Revive Transatlantic Trade Talks

US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland believes European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen will be able to revive trade talks between Brussels and Washington

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland believes European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen will be able to revive trade talks between Brussels and Washington.

"I'm very optimistic about her leadership and about her willingness to engage constructively with the United States. [The upcoming November inauguration of von der Leyen is] a golden opportunity for the U.S. and the EU to re-engage, where folks do not have to be fixed in old positions and trying to save face, but they can essentially start with a new, clean sheet of paper," the ambassador told the Politico news outlet in an interview.

Sondland underlined his expectations of US President Donald Trump winning the second term in the office next year and warned that Washington would not tolerate further EU attempts to delay trade talks.

"That's a long time in which to be at an impasse [on trade talks], particularly when the U.S. will not tolerate an impasse indefinitely," the ambassador said.

On July 25 last year, after a period of heightened trade tensions, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Trump issued a joint statement, agreeing to work toward "zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods." The sides also agreed to increase trade in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products and soybeans.

However, negotiations on the Transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States remain frozen. In mid-March, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said there are no opportunities to revive the stalled TTIP talks between Brussels and Washington in the foreseeable future.