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Ken Clarke has provided reassurance on consumer standards at a round table discussion on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.

At a round table discussion about the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) co-hosted in Westminster today by consumer campaigners Which? and Cabinet Minister Kenneth Clarke, Which? Group Chief Executive Peter Vicary-Smith threw the organisation’s weight behind any deal that would see prices fall for consumers, as long as their rights remained protected.

Mr Clarke in turn provided reassurance that the British government would not be party to lowering environmental, consumer or health and safety standards when pushing for a comprehensive trade and investment agreement

The discussion was held at the Houses of Parliament, and involved representatives from consumer groups, academia, business and Parliament. Mr Clarke and Mr Vicary-Smith highlighted the likely fall in consumer prices that a successful trade and investment deal would deliver, as a result of import tariffs being reduced or eliminated, and regulatory systems on either side of the Atlantic being brought more into line with each other.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a free trade agreement currently being negotiated between the European Union and the United States, has the potential to be the largest bilateral trade agreement in history and to bring significant economic benefits – growth, jobs and lower prices and greater choice for consumers – on both sides of the Atlantic. It could add as much as £10 billion annually to the UK economy in the long-term. The government hopes a deal can be reached by 2015.

The greatest benefits for consumers are anticipated in food and drink, motor vehicles, clothes and electrical goods, where there are existing high tariffs. Shoes and some clothes face tariffs of as much as 12%, while tariffs on some food and drink products are as much as 30%. A successful deal would mean that people buying cars imported from the US could save thousands.

Lower prices could also be passed onto consumers in telecommunication and other services as a result of greater competition.

Mr Clarke and Mr Vicary-Smith also highlighted the deal’s potential to increase the variety of goods and services available for people to buy, which could save an average household £450 every year.

Group Chief Executive of Which? Peter Vicary-Smith said:

Cabinet Minister without Portfolio Kenneth Clarke said:

Trade Minister Lord Livingston said:

Notes to editors

The EU and US account for about half of world GDP (47%) and one third of global trade flows (almost £1.6 billion of trade daily). Aggregate investment stocks are in excess of £2 trillion. As a result of TTIP, UK exports are projected to rise by £18.4 billion and UK imports are projected to rise by £19.7 billion.

The UK is pushing for a broad agreement that will reduce consumer prices and increase the choice and quality of good and services by eliminating the vast majority of tariffs, harmonising regulations on both sides of the Atlantic and so reducing the costs to consumers, and addressing behind-the-border barriers to trade across all sectors of the economy.

Overwhelmingly the gains are expected to come from improving the coherence between US and EU regulatory systems. For example, the many small differences in regulatory requirements that must be met for cars to be sold on either side of the Atlantic lead to increased production costs for automotive manufacturers which are passed on to consumers. This is despite regulators on both sides aiming at the same outcomes. Reducing these unnecessary differences will contribute to over 50% of the UK’s gains, without reducing high regulatory standards for consumer safety, health and environmental protection. A simpler regulatory landscape should translate into lower costs for producers, and therefore cheaper goods in the shops.

Consumers also stand to benefit from a reduction in EU tariffs and more efficient customs arrangements, which should lead to lower prices and wider choice.

Roundtable attendees

The roundtable was attended by: