U.S.-EU Trade Talks Shafted Amid Government Shutdown

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The partial U.S. government shutdown is heading into week two, with no end in sight. The shutdown has led to the cancelation of the second round of U.S.-EU trade talks. United States trade representatives were to arrive in Brussels Monday, with talks scheduled to last a week.

Partial shutdown was prompted last week after Congress failed to reach a deal on the budget. It is an ongoing battle between Democrats and Republicans. Time is ticking as an agreement needs to be reached by Oct. 17, the date when the U.S. is due to default on its debt repayments.

While the trade talks are wide-ranging, the cancelation is especially a big blow for the U.S. agriculture sector, which is faced with prolonged market access to the EU and burdened with no sign of a renewed Farm Bill.

EU’s commission trade chair Karel de Gucht released a statement calling the situation “unfortunate,” but said the cancellation will not distract from the aim of reaching a deal between the EU and the U.S. There are no signs of when the trade talks will be rescheduled.