Following David Cameron’s remarks to business leaders about the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership at Bloomberg in New York, Chris Cummings, Chief Executive, TheCityUK, said:
“The Prime Minister is right to underline the need for political leadership to complete the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP).
“TTIP’s potential to create jobs and generate economic growth in Europe and the United States is enormous. At stake is the realisation of the range of positive benefits to citizens and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic that would come from a comprehensive and ambitious agreement. TTIP’s influence could also be felt beyond the transatlantic marketplace by providing a template for addressing global trade and investment rules. This is a prize well worth having.
“While some major issues remain to be addressed in the negotiations, many of the arguments heard from those who do not wish to see TTIP concluded are misplaced. This is why the Prime Minister’s leadership is so welcome and why TheCityUK urges others to take up the challenge and deliver the economic boost that a successful TTIP promises.
“The message is clear: don’t waste this chance.”
Key facts:
TheCityUK represents the UK-based financial and related professional services industry. We lobby on its behalf, producing evidence of its importance to the wider national economy. At home in the UK, in the EU and internationally, TheCityUK seeks to influence policy to drive competitiveness, creating jobs and lasting economic growth.
TheCityUK’s membership includes UK-headquartered and inward investor firms around the world, including Europe and the United States.
The EU and the US account for around 12% of global population but nearly half of world GDP and 30% of world trade. For both the EU and the US, the TTIP will be bigger than any previous trade agreement.
TheCityUK co-sponsored with Thomson Reuters a report by the Atlantic Council on the dangers of transatlantic regulatory divergence.
A TTIP myth-buster produced by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is available through this link.
UK based financial and related professional services contributed 12% of UK GDP in 2013. Over 2 million people work in the industry across the country, two-thirds of whom are outside London. The UK’s financial and related professional services industry employs 7% of the population and they are the most productive jobs in the economy - 70% above the UK average. Foreign companies have invested around £100bn into UK financial companies since 2007.